PRINCETON,  N.  J.  typ 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 
Section 


MA2.5 

4i  


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/underafricansundOOanso_0 


UNDER 

THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

A  DESCRIPTION  OF  NATIVE  RACES  IN 
UGANDA,  SPORTING  ADVENTURES 
AND  OTHER  EXPERIENCES 


W.  J.  1 A  N  S  O  R  G  E 

M.A.,  LL.D.,  M.R.C.S.,  L.R.C.P. 
LATE  SENIOR  PROFESSOR  AT  THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  OF  MAURITIUS 
MEDICAL  OFFICER  TO   HER   MAJESTY^  GOVERNMENT 
IN  UGANDA 

WITH  134  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS  BT  THE  AUTHOR 
AND  TWO  COLOURED  PLATES 


NEW  YORK 

LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 

1899 


This  Edition  is  for  sale  in  the  United  States 
of  A  merica  only,  and  is  not  to  be  imported 
into  countries  signatory  to  the  Berne 
Treaty. 


X  O  T  E. 


In  the  Appendix,  Mr.  Ernst  Hartert,  Director  of 
the  Tring  Museum,  has  given  an  interesting  account  of 
my  collection  of  African  birds,  and  his  description  of 
rarities  and  novelties  forms  an  important  contribution  to 
science. 

The  Honourable  Walter  Rothschild  has  kindly  contributed 
to  ch.  xxii.  a  description  of  some  new  species  of  African 
lepidoptera.  In  the  same  chapter  some  valuable  hints  to 
collectors  will  be  found  in  an  extract  from  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Karl  Jordan. 

Mr.  IV.  E.  de  Winton,  F.Z.S.,  the  authority  on  "Small 
Mammals "  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  has 
courteously  added  to  ch.  XX.  a  scientific  list  of  those 
captured  by  me. 

TV.  J.  AXSORGE. 


London,  December,  1898. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  INTRODUCTORY   i 

II.  ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA   4 

III.  CARAVAN  LIFE   15 

IV.  THE  UGANDA  PROTECTORATE    .         .         .         .  41 
V.  THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT   46 

VI.  KAVI RONDO   61 

VII.  USOGA   79 

VIII.  THE  WAGANDA  .   90 

IX.  AT  KAMPALA   120 

X.  THE  SOUDANESE   142 

XI.  UNYORO   167 

XII.  OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE    .         .         .         .  181 

XIII.  ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  .         .  .198 

XIV.  ELEPHANT-HUNTING   220 

XV.  THE  "  MAN-EATER"   227 

XVI.  RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING   240 

XVII.  HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING   249 

XVIII.  GAZELLES   257 

XIX.  ANTELOPES         .   262 

XX.  SMALL  MAMMALS   279 

XXI.  REPTILES   285 

XXII.  BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES         .  .299 

APPENDIX 

BIRDS   323 


vii 


LIST  OF 


PLATES. 


The  "  Man-Eater's  "  Career  Ended  .  .  Frontispiece 
His  Highness  Seyyid  Hamud,  Sultan  of 

Zanzibar      .       .       .       .       .       .  .To  face  page  10 

{Reproduced,  with  permission,  from  a  photograph  by 
Coutinho  Brothers,  of  Zanzibar.) 

The  Euphorbia  Tree        .       .       .       .  „  ,,22 

Village    Headman    in   Uganda    bringing  a 

supply  of  Food  for  the  Caravan    .  .             ,,  32 

A  Family  Group  in  Kavirondo       .       .  .     .,  ,,62 

Entrance  to  a  Kavirondo  Village        .  .     ,,  66 

A  Family  Group  in  Usoga       .       .       .  „  .,80 

In  the  Stocks  „  92 

Waganda  Muenge-Sellers        .       .       .  „       „  96 

A  Lendu  Mother  with  her  Baby  .       .  ,,  ,,130 

Open-Air  Doctoring  at  Fovira       .       .  „       ,.  158 

Entrance  of  Fort  Hoima        .       .       .  ,,176 

A  Falua  Family        .       .       .       .       .  „  .,190 

A  Lur  Family  at  Mahaji        .       .  „       „  208 

Dug-Out  Canoe  on  Lake  Albert    .       .  „  ,.220 

A  Crocodile  of  the  Victoria  Nile       .  .     „       „  296 

COLOURED  PLATES. 

I.  New  Species  of  African  Insects       .  To  face  page  302 

II.  New  Species  of  African  Birds  .       .  .    „      „  344 

ix 


LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Masai  i 

A  Station  on  the  Suez  Canal  6 

Wasin  n 

The  English  Church  at  Mombasa  14 

Mid-day  Halt  on  the  March  .       .       .       .       .  .16 

Burchell's  Zebra      .       .       .       .       .       .       .  19 

A  Spotted  Hyaena     .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .21 

Fan-Palms  in  Unyoro  23 

A  White-Ant  Hillock      .       .       .       .  .  25 

My  Four  "Boys"  on  the  March  27 

Camp-Cookery  29 

A  Friendly  Chief  pays  a  Call  .  .  .  .  31 
The   Church  Mission   Society's  Steel-Boat  on  Lake 

Victoria  Nyanza  .  .  •  .  .  .  .  -33 
A  Kibanda,  or  Grass-thatched  Reed-Hut  .  .  -35 
The  Traveller's  Rest-House  at  Fajao  .  .  .  -37 
Masai  Woman  with  Gourd-Bottle  .....  46 

Wakikuyu  Men   47 

Wakikuyu  Women      ........  49 

At  a  Masai  Kraal  51 

Guinea-fowl  and  Ibis  53 

Anderobo  Woman      .       .  54 

Kwavi  59 

A  Kavirondo  Minstrel    .       .       .       .       .       .  .61 

The  Kavirondo  Chief  Ngira  64 

A  Blacksmith's  Paraphernalia  in  Kavirondo       .       .  68 
Kavirondo  Bellows,  Wooden  Shield,  and  War-Helmet  70 
Native  Bridge  over  the  Sio  River  in  Kavirondo       .  73 
A  Kavirondo  Village-Forge    .       .       .       .       .  .77 

Usoga  Hubble-bubble  79 

xi 


xii    LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAOE 

Usoga  Boats  82 

The  New  Fort  at  Luba's  in  Usoga  ....  85 
Pigmies  of  the  Great  African  Forest  ....  87 

Usoga  Drinking-Cup  89 

Uganda  Shield  .........  90 

Waganda  Peasants    ...  .  91 

A  Waganda  Family   .       .       .       .       .       .       .  93 

Waganda  Mat-Makers  95 

Bark-Cloth  Manufacture       .       .       .       .       .       ■  97 

Waganda  Soap-Sellers      .......  98 

Waganda  Potters      ........  99 

Upper-Class  Waganda  101 

mugwanya,  the  roman  catholic  prime  minister  of 

Uganda       .   103 

Waganda  Musicians  104 

Uganda  Harp    ......  .       .  106 

Uganda  Drums  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .107 

Waganda  Labourers  108 

Mtesa's  Tomb     .   .110 

In  a  Wahima  Kraal  .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .111 

Wahima  Herdsmen  113 

The  Roman  Catholic  Princes  Augustine  and  Joseph 

of  Uganda  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .115 

Ex-King  Mbogo,  Princess  Fatima,  and  Prince  Ramazan 

of  Uganda  .       .       .       .  .       .       .       .  117 

Uganda  Spears  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .119 

Native  Fish-Creel     .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .120 

Kampala  seen  from  Nakasero  Hill       .       .       .  .121 

Arab  and  Swahili  Ivory  Traders  123 

Kampala  Police  125 

A  Chain-Gang  at  Kampala      .       .       .       .       .  .126 

A  Fishmonger  128 

Front  of  Protestant  Cathedral  on  Namirembe  Hill.  130 
Rubaga  Hill  seen  from  Namirembe       .       .       .  .132 

An  Albino-Negro  133 

The  East  African  Rifles  135 


LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS  xfii 

PAGE 

Fort  Kampala  seen  from  the  Native  Market     .  .136 

Waganda  Spearmen   .  .138 

Main-Entrance  of  Fort  Kampala  140 

Military  Watch-Tower  at  Kibero         .       .       .  144 
Soudanese  ..........  146 

In  a  Soudanese  Village  .       .       .  .       .  .149 

Soudanese  Corporal  Spinning  Cotton-Thread      .       .  151 
The  Soudanese  Settlement  at  Kibero  .       .       .  .153 

The  Soudanese  Captain,  Surur  Effendi,  and  his  Family  155 
Bekamba,  the  Wanyoro  Chief,  in  his  State-Carriage  159 
The  Medical  Officer's  Residence  at  Masindi      .       .  161 

Three  of  the  Wounded  164 

At  the  Entrance  of  Fort  Masindi  .  .  .  .169 
The  Infant  Ajaka,  the  youngest  Chief  in  Unyoro  .  170 
Wanyoro  Women  with  Native  Hoes      .       .       .  -171 

A  Hospital-Hut  at  Masindi  173 

Patients  at  the  Hospital  Dispensary    ....  175 

A  Makraka  Family  177 

My  Hut  at  Hoima    .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .179 

Shuli  Natives  181 

River  Scenery  at  Fovira  182 

Drawbridge  of  Fort  Fovira     .       .       .       .       .  .184 

The  Wanyoro  Chief  Lejumba  .       .       .       .       .  .186 

The  Lango  Chief  Amien  187 

Sem-Sem  Drying-Stack      .       .       .       .       .       .  .189 

A  Falua  Dwelling  191 

The  Hospital  at  Fajao  194 

Natives  on  the  March  196 

Lur  Children  198 

In  the  Native  Village  at  Kibero  .  .  .  .  199 
The  Salt-Industry  at  Kibero  ......  200 

My  Quarters  at  Kibero  202 

Her   Majesty's   Steel-Boat    "Alexandra"   on  Lake 

Albert  Nyanza  204 

Afternoon  Tea  at  Mahaji  206 

Lur  Woman  carrying  a  Load  of  Wood  ....  208 


xiv    LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAG* 

Lur  Corn-Stores       .       .   210 

My  Tent   212 

Lur  Playing  the  Native  Game  "Soro"  ....  214 

Colobus  Monkeys      .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .216 

Wanyoro  Canoe-men  of  Lake  Albert  wearing  Reed 

Eye-Shades   218 

The  Daughters  of  Tukwenda  .       .       .       .       .  219 

A  Lucky  Shot   225 

The  Cage  for  the  Lion   232 

The  Lion-Trap  Completed       .       .       .       .       .  -233 

The  Lioness  at  Fajao   236 

A  Rhino  Head   241 

Two  Rhinos   247 

Soudanese  Soldier  with  the  Fajao  Paddle  .       .       .  249 

Landing-Place  at  Fajao   253 

A  Hippopotamus   255 

Grant's  Gazelle  $   260 

The  Impalla  Antelope  £  .......  263 

A  Pah  Antelope  £   265 

The  Kobus  Thomasi  Antelope  £   266 

The  Nswallah  Antelope  9   268 

Neumann's  Steinbok^   277 

Lophuromys  Ansorgei   279 

(From  "  Proceedings  of  Zoological  Society  of  London  " 
igtk  May  1896.) 

Crocodile-Pool  at  Fajao   295 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

It     JWY    first    journey,  March 
\\  /■     1894,   to    Uganda  was 
Y  I    made  in  the  days  prior 
to  the  proclamation  of 
a  British  Protectorate  over  these 
regions.    Caravans  then  had  to  be 
fitted  out  at  Zanzibar,  though  Mom- 
basa,  on   the   mainland,  was  the 
actual  starting-point.    The  trans- 
port, whatever  the  nature  of  the 
goods,  depended  on  the  efficiency 
of  natives  drawn  from  the  mixed 
coast-races  known   collectively  as 
Swahilies. 

The  caravan  route  from  Mom- 
basa to  Port  Alice,  a  distance  of 
800  miles,  was  practically  a  mere  footpath.  Not  a  few  hardships 
and  clangers  had  then  to  be  faced,  where  the  journey  now 
has  become  comparatively  a  pleasure-trip.  Barely  three  years 
ago  two  caravan  parties  were  massacred  by  hostile  natives  ; 
now,  a  gentleman  boasted  in  my  hearing  that  he  could 
travel  the  whole  distance  of  800  miles  in  absolute  safety  armed 
with  nothing  but  his  walking-stick.  Then,  it  took  eighty-three 
days  from  Mombasa  to  Kampala  ;  now,  barely  half  that  time. 
Formerly,  the  traveller  spent  eighteen  days  to  cross  the  Taru 
desert  and  the  fever-belt  beyond  it ;  now,  he  enters  the  train  at 
Mombasa  one  day,  and  finds  himself  next  day  safe  beyond  this 
trying  region.  From  Kikuyu  to  Kabras  then,  meant  twenty- 
one  days'  journey  without  the  caravan  meeting  another  human 
being,  except  perchance  some  wandering  Masai  warrior  wearing 


2 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


a  pigtail  wig  and  armed  with  a  long-bladed  spear.  Now,  three 
Government  stations  at  Lake  Naivasha,  Eldoma  Ravine,  and 
Nandi  respectively,  complete  the  chain  of  forts.  Where  Bishop 
Hannington  failed  to  pass  and  lost  his  life,  mission  ladies 
now  travel  safely  and  comfortably.  At  Kikuyu,  where  we  were 
warned  not  to  venture  out  of  sight  of  the  fort,  and  never  to 
go  about  unarmed  or  without  an  armed  escort,  three  families  of 
English  settlers  have  built  themselves  homes,  and  three  chubby 
infants,  the  first  Europeans  born  in  this  distant  region  of  Africa, 
have  made  their  appearance. 

Zanzibar  too  has  felt  the  effect  of  these  changes.  It  used 
to  be  the  great  emporium,  Mombasa  being  merely  a  geogra- 
phical name  as  regards  importance  ;  now,  with  the  railway  an 
accomplished  undertaking  for  the  first  200  miles,  Mombasa  as 
its  coast-terminus  is  every  day  increasing  in  importance,  and 
Zanzibar  is  gradually  but  steadily  sinking  into  the  shade. 

The  old  caravan  route  presented  to  the  traveller  interest- 
ing variations  in  scenery  and  surroundings  : — Mombasa,  with 
its  cocoa-nut  palms  and  mango-trees  ;  the  waterless  Taru 
desert,  with  its  clumps  of  thorn-bush  and  euphorbia  ;  the 
Maungu,  Xdara,  and  Xdi  hills,  with  giraffes  and  elands  in 
the  adjoining  plains  ;  Kibwezi,  with  its  huge  baobab  trees  ; 
the  Makindo  and  Kiboko  river-camps,  with  rhinos  and  zebras, 
gazelles  and  antelopes  in  their  neighbourhood  ;  the  shallow 
Kilungu  river  winding  through  fertile  and  populated  regions  ; 
the  Athi  plains,  the  most  magnificent  game  country  in  the 
whole  world,  with  its  lions  and  ostriches,  hartebeests  and 
wildebeests  ;  Kikuyu  forest,  with  its  glades  and  clearings  ;  the 
extinct  volcano  Longonot,  with  the  huge  crater  on  its  summit  ; 
Lake  Naivasha,  with  its  myriads  of  waterfowl  of  every  de- 
scription ;  Lake  Nakuru,  with  its  thousands  of  flamingoes  ;  the 
virgin  forest-belt  of  Subugo,  with  its  noble  timber ;  the  cold 
Mau  escarpment,  nearly  9000  feet  above  the  sea-level,  with 
scattered  patches  of  waving  bamboos  ;  the  treeless  regions  of 
Kavirondo  ;  the  garden  of  Usoga,  with  its  grey  parrots  and  vast 
banana  plantations  ;  the  Nile,  where  it  forms  the  exit  of  that 
mighty  lake  the  Victoria  Nyanza  ;  finally,  Uganda,  with  its  hills 
and  valleys,  its  wild  date-palms  and  twenty-feet  high  elephant- 
grass. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  accomplish  this  journey  six  times,  be- 
sides spending  nearly  a  year  in  the  more  remote  parts  known 


INTRODUCTORY 


3 


as  Unyoro  and  crossing  Lake  Albert  four  times.  There  is  an 
indescribable  fascination  in  African  travel  and  adventure,  which 
draws  one  again  and  again  to  the  Dark  Continent,  though  not  a 
few  Europeans  have  found  it  their  grave.  Within  the  last  four 
years  a  score  have  passed  off  the  scene  ;  those  personally  known 
to  me  were  : — Mr.  Purkiss,  Dr.  Chartres,  Mr.  Muxworthy,  Capt. 
Dunning,  Mr.  West,  Mr.  Dick,  Monseigneur  Guillemin,  Mr. 
Godfrey,  Capt.  Sclater,  Major  Thruston,  Mr.  N.  Wilson,  Mr.  Scott, 
Mr.  Pilkington,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard.  The  majority  of 
these  met  with  a  violent  death  ;  only  two  or  three  fell  victims 
to  the  climate.  British  supremacy,  called  "  Protectorate,"  is 
slowly  and  steadily  establishing  itself  over  these  vast  realms. 
It  has  abolished  slavery,  compelled  native  races  to  live  at 
peace  with  each  other,  and  opened  up  uninhabited  regions, 
larger  than  the  whole  of  England,  for  skilful  and  willing 
settlers  to  found  homesteads  and  farms. 

On  my  first  arrival  in  Uganda,  we  were  but  twelve  Euro- 
pean officials,  including  every  one  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest ;  and  only  seven  remain  of  these  pioneers,  the  thin 
end  of  the  wedge  made  use  of  by  the  British  Government 
in  the  great  work  of  opening  up  these  remote  regions  to 
further  British  enterprise.  Perhaps  some  of  my  experiences 
"  under  the  African  sun "  may  be  of  service  to  others. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ZANZIBAR   AND  MOMBASA. 

THE  traveller  to  Uganda  has  to  reach  first  of  all  Mom- 
basa ;  and  to  do  this,  he  may  go  either  by  French 
steamer  and  change  at  Zanzibar,  or  by  English  steamer 
and  change  at  Aden.  By  the  former  he  misses  seeing 
Aden,  and  by  the  latter  seeing  Zanzibar.  There  are  no  mails  at 
present  running  direct  from  England  to  Mombasa.1 

Those  who  prefer  to  embark  in  London,  who  object  to 
second-class  passengers  sharing  the  steamer's  deck  with  the  first- 
class,  who  dislike  French  cookery,  and  who  are  absolutely 
ignorant  of  the  French  language,  should  not  go  by  the  French 
steamer.  Those,  however,  who  wish  to  save  themselves  the  long 
sea-voyage  through  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and  round  by  Gibraltar, 
who  prefer  the  passage-money  to  include  a  certain  free-allow- 
ance of  wine  and  beer  on  board,  and  who  have  to  cut  down 
their  expenses,  may  prefer  the  French  line. 

If  the  traveller  selects  the  English  line,  and  money  is  no  con- 
sideration, he  may  save  himself  the  Bay  of  Biscay  by  going  over- 
land and  catching  up  his  steamer  at  Brindisi.  If  the  traveller 
chooses  the  French  route,  he  has  to  embark  at  Marseilles 2  on 
one  of  the  Messageries  Maritimes  Company's  steamers  bound 
for  Zanzibar. 

From  London  to  Marseilles  takes  twenty-four  hours.  Those 
who  prefer  crossing  the  Channel  during  the  day  should  leave 
London  via  Dover  and  Calais  in  the  morning.  Those  who  do 
not  mind  crossing  the  Channel  at  night,  and  would  like  to  see 
something  of  the  scenery  of  France  as  they  travel  along,  should 
leave  London  in  the  evening. 

In  travelling  through  France,  the  passenger  should  bear  in 

1  Steamers  of  the  German  "  Ost- Afrika- Linie "  run  direct  from  Hamburg  to 
Mombasa,  touching  at  Naples. 

-  P.  and  O.  steamers  noio  call  also  at  Marseilles. 


ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA 


5 


mind  that  even  with  a  first-class  ticket  only  56  lbs.  of  luggage 
can  be  taken  free,  and  that  a  very  exorbitant  freight  is  charged 
for  every  pound  over  weight.  One  small  trunk  for  the  cabin 
usually  represents  the  56  lbs.  allowed  free.  But  there  is  no 
need  for  any  one  to  burden  himself  unnecessarily  by  taking 
the  whole  lot  of  his  belongings  across  France.  The  agent 
in  London  of  the  French  Company  will  take  charge  of  all 
the  luggage,  if  delivered  to  his  care  a  full  fortnight  before  the 
date  fixed  for  the  departure  of  the  mail  from  Marseilles.  The 
luggage  is  then  sent  on  by  sea,  and  the  passenger  will  find  it 
waiting  for  him  at  Marseilles  when  he  arrives  there. 

The  journey  from  Marseilles  to  Zanzibar  takes  eighteen  days; 
this  includes  the  unavoidable  loss  of  time  due  to  coaling  at  Port 
Said  and  Djibouti.  The  French  steamers  are  noted  for  their 
remarkable  punctuality  as  regards  the  advertised  dates  of  depar- 
ture and  arrival.  There  have  been  considerable  changes  in  the 
mail-service,  since  I  first  journeyed  down  the  Red  Sea  prior  to  the 
opening  of  the  Suez  Canal.  In  those  days  we  went  by  steamer 
from  Marseilles  to  Alexandria,  then  by  train  from  Alexandria  via 
Cairo  to  Suez,  and  from  there  once  more  by  steamer  to  our 
destination.  When  the  Suez  Canal  was  opened,  the  Messageries 
Maritimes  boats  touched  at  Aden,  Messina,  and  Naples ;  but 
they  do  not  do  so  now. 

From  Marseilles  to  Port  Said  takes  five  days.  Port  Said  has 
become  a  busy  centre  ;  it  has  attracted  wealth  and  at  the  same 
time  the  scum  which  caters  for  every  evil  passion.  The  steamer 
coals  here  ;  and  as  coaling  implies  dirt  and  discomfort,  the 
passenger  takes  refuge  on  shore.  Whether  one  has  seen  the 
place  already  or  not,  it  is  always  a  pleasant  change,  and  breaks 
the  monotony  of  a  long  sea-voyage,  to  take  a  stroll  on  shore. 

The  Suez  Canal  is  traversed  in  fifteen  hours.  There  are  pretty 
bits  of  scenery  and  quaint  glimpses  of  Eastern  life  revealed,  as 
the  vessel  steams  slowly  past  the  interminable  expanse  of  sand. 

In  passing  through  the  canal,  notwithstanding  the  apparent 
sameness  of  the  surroundings,  the  traveller  may  meet  with  very 
different  experiences.  On  one  journey  we  traversed  the  canal 
during  the  night.  There  were  many  English  passengers,  in- 
cluding a  good  many  Australians  going  to  England  for  a  holi- 
day. A  charming  and  graceful  fancy-dress  ball  was  promptly 
organised  and  enlivened  the  occasion.  On  another  journey  we 
steamed  down  the  canal  during  the  day.     A  fierce  sandstorm 


6 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


was  raging,  and  all  the  ports  were  tightly  closed,  yet  the  fine 
sand  found  its  way  somehow  into  everything.  We  were  boxed 
up  in  the  saloon,  and  the  heat  was  stifling. 

More  commonly  the  apathetic  passenger  simply  u  kills 
time."  To  his  blase  eye  the  pretty  canal  stations  are  unin- 
teresting ;  to  him  the  Egyptian  ragged  urchins  scrambling 
for  an  orange  or  a  coin  are  an  absolute  bore,  and  the  white 
cloud  of  ibis,  the  single  file  of  camels,  the  sand  dunes,  the 
salt  lakes,  are  of  supreme  indifference. 


A  STATION  ON  THE  SUEZ  CANAL. 


It  is  a  curious  fact  that  on  board  a  ship  every  traveller 
becomes  much  more  chummy  ;  and  when  he  does  throw  off 
the  crusty  shell  of  prejudice,  he  is  ready  to  take  to  anybody. 
On  board  ship  one  meets,  one  parts,  perhaps  never  to  meet 
again  ;  yet  many  a  kindly  word  or  action  lingers  in  the  recesses 
of  memory,  and  is  treasured  for  years.  It  does  not  take  much 
to  call  forth  a  laugh  when  everybody  is  in  a  mood  for  it. 

At  the  Suez  end  of  the  canal  the  steamer  only  stops  to  land 
mails ;  there  is  no  time  nowadays  to  go  on  shore  and  visit  the 
Well  of  Moses  and  other  sights  of  the  neighbourhood.  In- 
dustrious hawkers,  however,  come  on  board  the  homeward- 


ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA 


bound  ships  to  have  their  innings  before  the  passengers  reach 
Port  Said. 

From  Suez  to  Djibouti  takes  six  days.  The  steamer  gene- 
rally anchors  very  far  from  shore,  consequently  the  long  journey 
in  an  open  boat  under  the  broiling  sun  is  too  uninviting  to  tempt 
many  passengers  to  land,  and  there  is  very  little  to  see  if  one 
does  go.  On  my  last  journey  most  of  us  remained  on  board, 
and  we  had  some  mild  excitement  in  watching  a  monster  ray 
disporting  itself  round  the  ship,  till  two  of  the  sailors  went  off 
in  a  boat  and  successfully  harpooned  it.  It  had  a  filiform  tail 
several  feet  long,  and  two  remarkable  blue  flappers  a  foot  long 
near  its  monster  jaws.  It  is  on  occasions  like  these  that  one 
would  like  to  have  a  few  spare  pounds  to  secure  such  a  curiosity 
for  a  museum.  I  have  not  seen  anything  like  it  in  any  museum  ; 
and,  for  all  I  know  to  the  contrary,  it  may  have  been  an  un- 
known species.  It  was  soon  chopped  up,  the  greater  part  of 
its  body  being  thrown  overboard  as  "  waste."  The  flesh  was 
considered  too  coarse  for  the  passengers'  table,  and  was  handed 
over  to  the  sailors. 

At  Djibouti  the  traveller  hears  the  same  familiar  cry  of 
"  Ever  dive  ! — Ho  !  ho  ! — Ever  dive  ! — Ho  !  ho  !  "  as  at  Aden.  A 
number  of  natives  come  in  their  tiny  dug-outs  to  the  steamer's 
side,  jump  into  the  water,  and  with  hoarse  cries  invite  the  idle 
spectator  to  chuck  them  a  coin  to  dive  for  in  the  clear  trans- 
lucent water. 

From  Djibouti  to  Zanzibar  takes  six  days.  Flying-fish 
occasionally  drop  on  to  the  deck.  It  is  a  pretty  sight  when  a 
shoal  of  flying-fish  skims  the  surface  of  the  water,  clipping 
through  the  crests  of  the  waves  with  the  sunbeams  glinting 
from  their  silvery  sides.  Sometimes,  but  not  often,  one  sees 
the  outlines,  as  if  sculptured,  of  the  "  sleeping  lion  "  presented 
by  the  rock-bound  coast  of  Cape  Guardafui. 

Seen  from  the  ocean,  as  the  steamer  nears  the  island, 
Zanzibar  presents  a  dense  growth  of  cocoa  -  nut  palms 
and  green  verdure  ;  but  the  town  itself  is  a  mass  of 
buildings  huddled  together  anyhow.  The  narrow  tortuous 
streets,  the  crowded  native  bazaar,  the  Sultan's  palace,  the 
British  Consulate,  have  already  been  described  by  different 
travellers. 

Part  of  the  wealth  of  Zanzibar  is  derived  from  its  clove 
plantations,  and  it  would  be  a  mistake  not  to  visit  one  of  them 


8 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


The  clove-trees,  most  of  them  old,  are  planted  in  straight  rows 
of  considerable  length,  and  form  picturesque  groves. 

Passing  through  the  native  quarter,  I  came  across  an  Arab 
school.  Teacher  and  pupils  were  sitting  cross-legged  on  mats  ; 
each  pupil  was  using,  instead  of  a  slate,  a  scapula  or  shoulder- 
blade  of  some  animal. 

By  the  roadside  I  saw  a  native  doctor  cupping  a  patient,  and 
two  women  were  waiting  for  their  turn.  He  used  a  goat-horn, 
perforated  at  the  top  with  a  small  aperture  which  he  blocked 
with  a  piece  of  wax.  Having  made  two  or  three  tiny  incisions 
on  the  skin  of  the  patient,  the  practitioner  passed  the  mouth  of 
the  horn  over  a  flame  and  then  clapped  it  over  the  wound. 
After  a  few  minutes,  by  removing  the  plug  of  wax,  the  horn 
was  withdrawn,  and  in  most  cases  a  large  clot  of  blood  came 
away  with  it. 

Apparently  everybody  in  Zanzibar,  who  can  possibly  afford 
it,  keeps  a  carriage.  Arabs  and  Indians  may  be  seen  taking 
daily  their  afternoon  drive  along  the  Xazimoja  road  in  a  variety 
of  elegant  vehicles. 

On  my  second  visit  to  Zanzibar  the  island  had  just  been 
visited  by  a  severe  epidemic  ;  the  German  doctor  had  suc- 
cumbed to  it,  and  the  English  doctor  was  ill.  I  happened  to 
take  my  watch  to  a  shop  to  be  repaired.  The  watchmaker,  a 
European,  was  covered  with  boils  from  head  to  foot.  He  did 
not  know  that  I  belonged  to  the  medical  profession,  when  he 
explained  to  me  that  he  was  treating  himself,  having  found  in 
some  old  obscure  pamphlet  an  excellent  prescription  for  draw- 
ing out  the  bad  blood  !  "  What's  the  good  of  going  to  doctors  ?  " 
he  said,  "they  can't  even  cure  themselves;  there's  the  German 
doctor  dead,  and  the  other  doctor  very  ill  !  "  He  assured  me,  in 
proof  of  the  efficacy  of  his  own  treatment,  that  he  had  not  a 
single  boil  till  he  began  to  treat  himself ;  "  and  now  look  ! "  he 
exclaimed,  pointing  triumphantly  to  his  blotched  face  which 
might  have  done  credit  to  a  severe  attack  of  small-pox.  He 
was  not  satisfied  apparently  at  the  success  on  his  own  person, 
but  had  tried  the  treatment  also  on  his  unfortunate  wife  and 
child,  who  were  summoned  to  show  themselves  to  me.  Allow- 
ing that  he  represented  the  superlative  degree  of  an  exodus 
of  boils,  his  family  represented  a  very  good  comparative  and 
positive  stage  respectively.  The  next  time  I  visited  Zanzibar 
he  and  his  family  had  disappeared  ;  possibly  he  went  some- 


ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA  9 


where  to  take  out  a  patent  for  a  pill  "warranted  to  draw  out 
the  bad  blood." 

There  are  a  number  of  hotels  and  restaurants  at  Zanzibar  ; 
but  most  of  them  are  simply  drinking-saloons.  The  great 
drawback  to  all  lies  in  their  very  unpleasant  domestic  arrange- 
ments for  meeting  certain  imperative  laws  of  nature. 

In  one  of  these  hotels,  in  1894,  I  met  some  strange  cus- 
tomers. A  troupe  of  performers,  anxious  to  give  an  exhibition 
of  a  balloon  ascent  before  the  late  Sultan,  had  arrived  from 
India.  The  Sultan,  however,  declined  to  pay  the  sum  they 
asked.  Their  leader  was  a  powerful  young  man,  but  addicted 
to  drink,  and  the  worse  for  it  every  night.  As  the  partitions 
separating  the  bedrooms  were  only  thin  planks,  I  became  the 
unwilling  listener  to  nightly  conjugal  altercations  between  him 
and  his  wife.  The  partner  in  this  show  volunteered  to  me 
the  information  that  the  lady  was  already  the  fourth  wife, 
her  three  predecessors  having  come  to  an  untimely  and  un- 
fortunate end  by  dropping  from  the  balloon.  The  fourth  wife 
was  then  training  to  perform  her  balloon  ascent  and,  let  us 
hope,  more  successful  descent.  The  troupe  left  Zanzibar  within 
a  few  days — destination  unknown. 

Enjoying  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge's  courteous  hospitality  at  the 
British  Consulate,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  being  present  at  a 
very  grand  Arab  dinner  given  by  him,  in  honour  of  the  Queen's 
birthday,  to  all  the  Arab  nobility  and  elite.  The  Sultan  was 
represented  by  his  brother,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne. 
Etiquette  forbids  his  Highness  from  eating  in  public  with  his 
subjects.  The  famous  slave-dealer  Tippoo-Tib  was  also  present. 
Though  there  were  but  forty  guests,  over  three  hundred  dishes 
loaded  the  table  in  Arab  fashion  with  Arab  delicacies.  Roasts, 
pastry,  rice,  sweetmeats,  fruit,  were  lavishly  jostling  each  other 
for  elbow-room.  For  the  Europeans  knives  and  forks  were  laid  ; 
but  the  Arabs  used  Adam's  fork,  helping  themselves  indiscrimi- 
nately to  anything  within  reach.  They  drank  sherbet.  Arab 
etiquette  demands  that  the  guest  should  eat  very  little  ;  conse- 
quently all  this  profusion  went  to  their  attendants  who  rushed 
in  after  the  guests  had  left  the  table,  and  then  the  eatables 
disappeared  in  a  twinkling. 

A  very  imposing  ceremony  was  the  investiture  of  his  High- 
ness Seyyid  Hamud,  Sultan  of  Zanzibar,  with  the  insignia  of 
the  Order  of  Grand  Commander  of  the  Star  of  India.  The 


IO 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


investiture  took  place  in  the  Victoria  Hall,  a  first-rate  building 
for  public  ceremonies  of  this  sort.  It  is  in  the  Sultan's 
gardens,  where  the  slave-market  used  to  exist  in  days  prior  to 
the  British  Protectorate.  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B., 
her  Britannic  Majesty's  Consul-General  and  Diplomatic  Agent, 
sat  at  the  Sultan's  right ;  a'nd  Brigadier-General  A.  E.  Raikes, 
commanding  his  Highness  the  Sultan's  army,  was  at  the  Sultan's 
left.  The  others  in  sequence  were  Basil  S.  Cave,  Esq.,  C.B., 
the  Consul ;  Henry  C.  C.  Dundas,  Esq.,  the  Vice-Consul ;  and 
next  to  the  latter  sat  Captain  P.  F.  Tillard,  R.X.,  of  H.M.S. 
Magicienne.    Behind  the  Captain  sat  Mrs.  Basil  Cave. 

Sir  Arthur  is  deservedly  popular  throughout  both  Protec- 
torates. His  genial  manners  and  flow  of  conversation  cover 
the  erudite  classical  scholar  of  Oxford  and  the  distinguished 
Arabic  linguist. 

Mr.  Basil  Cave  is  well  known,  owing  to  the  prominent  part 
he  played  in  the  suppression  of  the  usurper  who  endeavoured 
to  seize  the  Sultanate  when  the  late  Sultan  died. 

Zanzibar  is  one  of  the  bishoprics  of  the  Universities  Mission  ; 
their  death-roll  is  appalling.  I  was  sorry  to  find  that  of  four  of 
their  number  who  were  fellow-passengers  with  me  in  1896  only 
one  is  left ;  one  died,  two  have  been  permanently  invalided : 
no  comment  is  needed.  In  1893  I  visited  the  island  of  Likoma 
in  Lake  Nyassa,  another  of  their  bishoprics,  where  the  list  of 
dead  and  invalided  is  even  heavier  ;  the  Bishop,  who  showed 
us  friendly  hospitality,  was  succeeded  by  his  Archdeacon  ;  when 
the  latter  died,  the  medical  missionary  became  the  bishop. 

The  English  Club  in  Zanzibar  is  a  very  popular  institution, 
and  famous  for  its  "  Sabbath-Calms"  and  other  mysteries,  which, 
however,  must  not  be  divulged  to  the  uninitiated  ;  the  stranger- 
guest  soon  learns  them. 

From  Zanzibar  to  Mombasa  means  about  fifteen  hours  by 
steamer.  At  present  there  is  rather  an  uncertainty  how  long 
one  may  have  to  wait  at  Zanzibar  for  a  steamer  to  cross  over 
to  Mombasa.  There  is,  however,  a  monthly  communication 
by  means  of  the  German  line  and  the  British  India.  In 
addition,  the  Protectorate  steamer  the  Juba  plies  between  the 
two  islands.  Last  time  I  crossed  from  Mombasa  to  Zanzibar 
it  was  in  the  Juba,  and  we  had  an  Arab  dhow  in  tow  as  far 
as  Wasin  (written  also  Wassein). 

Wasin  is  the  southern  extremity  of  the  coast-line  of  the 


ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA 


British  East  African  Protectorate.  Opposite  to  it  is  a  large 
island,  said  to  be  a  favourite  residence  of  pious  and  wealthy 
Arabs  and  a  seat  of  Arab  learning. 

Mombasa  is  the  capital  of  British  East  Africa.  The  island 
is  also  named  Mombasa,  and  nestles  close  against  the  mainland 
which  throws  a  protecting  arm  round  it  in  the  shape  of  a  pro- 
montory, called  "  English-Point,"  on  the  north-east.  The  space 
between  English- Point  and  the  island  forms  Mombasa  harbour. 
Coral  reefs  narrow  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  and  every  now 
and  then  some  vessel  comes  to  grief.    There  is  another  harbour 


WASIN. 


at  Kilindini,  which  is  said  to  be  better.  The  island  is  separated 
from  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  strip  of  the  sea,  which  at  low 
water  can  be  forded  by  wading  across  it. 

The  coral  rocks  supply  excellent  building  material,  and  the 
Government  is  raising  handsome  and  imposing  structures  to 
serve  as  residences  for  the  different  Departmental  Chiefs.  Instead 
of  using  limekilns,  the  natives  burn  their  lime  in  the  open  air. 
They  construct  a  circular  stack  of  faggots  several  feet  high, 
according  to  the  quantity  of  coral  to  be  burnt.  On  and  about 
it  lumps  of  coral  are  piled,  the  stack  is  then  fired,  and  the 
coral  calcined. 

Dark  and  grim  the  old  Portuguese  fortress  frowns  at  the 
water's  edge  and  commands  the  entrance  of  Mombasa  harbour. 


12  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


What  sinister  scenes  these  old  walls  must  have  witnessed,  when 
slavery  and  tyranny  were  rampant,  when  it  required  six  months 
to  circumnavigate  Africa  via  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Lisbon,  when 
the  Portuguese  governor  held  the  life,  honour,  and  property  of 
residents  at  his  mercy,  and  ruled  with  more  absolute  sway  than 
the  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias !  Looking  at  crumbling  portions 
of  the  old  defences  and  at  the  rusting  dismantled  cannons 
strewn  about,  some  lapped  by  the  restless  tides,  some  resting 
in  the  dismal  casemates,  Scott's  noble  lines  in  "Marmion"  are 
recalled — 

"  The  ire  of  a  wrathful  king 
Comes  riding  on  destruction's  wing  ! " 

The  littleness  of  human  greatness  is  emphasised  !  The  petty 
tyrant,  raised  by  the  inscrutable  decree  of  Providence  to  rule  a 
province  in  these  distant  regions,  forgets  that  he  is  as  insig- 
nificant as  a  bubble  of  spray  on  the  mighty  crest  of  storm- 
tossed  ocean  waves;  his  name  and  word  supreme  to-day, 
to-morrow  are  forgotten,  as  the  ceaseless  ages  roll  along  with 
their  thousand  years  counting  but  as  a  day  in  the  eternal 
history  of  time ! 

The  narrow  winding  streets  of  the  older  portion  of  Mombasa 
town  are  not  very  inviting.  With  regard  to  the  newer  portion, 
where  the  Wali  (the  Arab  governor  or  magistrate  of  the  town) 
is  erecting  rows  of  native  buildings  to  accommodate  the  rapidly- 
increasing  native  population,  a  wide  straight  road  is  left  open  for 
traffic,  and  leads  to  cocoa-nut  plantations  and  copses  of  magni- 
ficent old  mango-trees. 

Swahili  ladies  delight  in  having  the  tiny  amount  of  wool 
on  their  heads  elaborately  plaited  by  a  professional  hair- 
dresser. The  height  of  fashion  with  them  is  to  have  the  wool 
parted  in  longitudinal  streaks  from  the  forehead  to  the  occiput, 
so  as  to  give  the  skull  the  resemblance  to  a  ribbed  melon. 
Instead  of  being  satisfied  with  one  hole  through  the  lobe  of 
the  ear,  they  punch  a  series  of  holes,  arranged  in  a  semicircle 
along  the  whole  of  the  outer  rim  of  the  ear.  Ear-rings  in 
the  shape  of  small  buttons  are  then  inserted,  and  a  similar 
button  worn  as  a  nose-ring  in  the  cartilage  of  the  right  or  left 
nostril  completes  the  head-toilet.  As  regards  dress,  the  louder 
the  pattern  and  the  more  glaring  the  colours  of  the  cotton  cloth 
which  forms  her  one  garment,  the  more  is  the  Swahili  pleased. 


ZANZIBAR  AND  MOMBASA 


13 


The  traveller  may  see  one  wearing  a  brilliant  yellow  cloth 
with  a  flaring  red  sun  radiating  from  the  centre,  or  another 
lady  sporting  a  huge  geometrical  pattern  visible  a  couple  of 
miles  off. 

The  Mombasa  Club  deserves  every  success  ;  it  has  supplied 
a  great  want  in  offering  bedroom  accommodation  to  travellers 
to  or  from  Uganda.  For  though  there  are  a  number  of  second 
or  third  rate  hotels,  kept  chiefly  by  Greeks,  the  tendency  of  all 
is  to  degenerate  into  drinking-saloons  for  the  shady  class  of 
men  met  with  in  all  seaports.  Until  quite  recently  the  Uganda 
Government  official  arriving  at  Mombasa  had  to  depend  on 
the  kindness  of  a  personal  friend  to  put  him  up  for  the  night. 
I  had  a  room  at  the  hospital,  owing  to  the  courtesy  of  Dr. 
Macdonald,  the  chief  medical  officer.  "A  friend  in  need  is 
a  friend  indeed,"  all  the  world  over  ;  and  if  it  had  not  been 
for  him,  I  would  have  had  to  pitch  my  tent,  like  a  gipsy,  on 
a  piece  of  waste  land,  when  I  arrived  at  Mombasa,  in  the 
spring  of  1895,  from  Uganda  with  a  patient  who  had  been 
invalided  home.  This  happened  in  the  days  of  the  ephemeral 
Imperial  British  East  Africa  Company.  Now  a  Sub-Commis- 
sioner, Mr.  Craufurd,  is  permanently  settled  here  ;  and  it  was 
owing  to  his  kindly  assistance,  when  last  I  went  up-country, 
that  the  Government  was  saved  the  expense  of  any  consider- 
able delay  at  Mombasa. 

A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  island  is  the  baobab  tree  with 
its  aldermanic  girth  among  trees.  When  it  has  shed  its  leaves, 
it  stands  bare  and  gaunt,  and  looks  as  if  stretching  out  gouty 
fingers  in  apoplectic  uncertainty.  It  has  a  curious  hard-shelled 
fruit  which,  when  cut  through  and  emptied  of  contents, 
furnishes  bowls  for  drawing  water,  much  in  the  same  way  that 
the  coco-de-mer  supplies  dispensing-scoops  to  some  of  the  Arab 
retail  dealers. 

A  very  tiny  species  of  dwarf  antelope  is  still  occasionally 
met  with  on  the  island  ;  but  this  pretty  and  graceful  little 
creature  is  dangerously  near  extermination.  Birds  and  insects 
are  well  represented  ;  but  it  is  obviously  difficult  to  get  any- 
thing new,  where  every  collector  starts  his  collection  from,  and 
where  he  finally  ends  it. 

A  good  deal  of  mission  activity  prevails  in  Mombasa,  and 
there  are  several  mission  societies.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  native 
convert  so  often  brings  disgrace  on  the  religion  he  professes 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


to  have  embraced.  In  many  cases  he  learns  to  read,  write, 
and  speak  English  more  or  less  fluently,  but  becomes  on 
the  strength  of  it  insufferably  conceited.  Bishop  Tucker,  the 
esteemed  and  conscientious  Bishop  of  both  Protectorates,  has 
indeed  a  hard  task  to  prevent  these  human  canker-worms  from 
destroying  the  fruit  of  his  mission-fields. 

The  new  little  English  church  at  Mombasa  looks  prim  and 
primitive. 

On  my  last  journey  to  the  coast  I  had,  for  the  first  time, 
the  benefit  of  travelling  by  the  Uganda  Railway.  The  line  was 
completed  as  far  as  Kinani,  170  miles  from  the  coast ;  but  only 
open  for  traffic  as  far  as  Voi,  100  miles  from  the  coast,  and 
then  only  on  certain  days  of  the  week.  To  avoid  delay,  I 
accepted  accommodation  offered  in  a  goods-van.  We  left 
Kinani  at  9.30  P.M.  and  arrived  at  Voi  at  3.30  a.m.  ;  here  we  had 
to  wait  till  8.30  A.M.,  arriving  at  Kilindini  Station,  in  the  island 
of  Mombasa,  at  4.30  p.m. 

This  lift  saved  us  the  wearisome  march  through  the  Taru 
desert  ;  but  travellers  to  Uganda,  though  saved  a  most 
unpleasant  part  of  the  caravan  route,  have  still  to  experience 
more  or  less  of  caravan  life  before  thev  reach  their  destination. 


THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH  AT  MOMBASA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CARAVAN  LIFE. 

CARAVAN  life  in  Africa  is  a  healthy  life,  owing  to  the 
constant  outdoor  exercise  and  the  necessarily  frugal 
fare.  It  is  an  ideal  life  for  a  man  able  to  rough  it, 
satisfied  with  leading  a  more  or  less  solitary  existence, 
fond  of  sport,  and  capable  of  culling  pleasure  from  the  gifts  of 
Nature  which  a  bountiful  Providence  strews  along  his  path.  If, 
in  addition,  the  traveller  has  a  good  outfit  and  a  well-arranged 
transport  service,  he  will  find  the  few  troubles  he  is  likely  to 
encounter  reduced  to  a  minimum.  With  each  journey  one 
gains  some  new  experience,  and  in  proportion  learns  to  adapt 
oneself  better  to  the  altered  circumstances  of  such  a  life.  Of 
course,  what  suits  one  man  does  not  suit  everybody.  As  a 
simple  illustration  take  the  routine  of  meals.  Some  travellers 
can  stow  away  a  very  hearty  breakfast  in  the  early  morning  just 
before  they  march.  I,  for  one,  am  unable  to  partake  of  a  heavy 
meal  at  a  very  early  hour  ;  a  plate  of  porridge  is  all  I  require, 
and  it  suits  me  best.  I  do  not  hold  that  a  caravan  should  be 
driven,  as  if  it  were  an  express  train  or  a  slave  gang,  with 
scarcely  a  pause  on  to  the  next  camping-ground.  I  prefer  to 
treat  them  as  human  beings  carrying  heavy  loads  and  doing 
hard  work ;  I  therefore  always  give  them  half-an-hour's  rest 
during  the  march,  if  possible  near  some  running  water  where 
they  can  refresh  themselves.  The  break  in  the  march  I  utilise 
by  having  a  sort  of  breakfast  and  lunch  combined.  This  mid- 
day meal  consists  of  the  cold  remains  of  last  night's  dinner,  a 
saving  of  labour  to  the  cook  who  has  to  march  along  with  the 
caravan  like  the  rest  of  us. 

Sometimes  the  halt  occurs  at  a  spot  like  a  shady  bower  in 
a  leafy  avenue.    Then,  again,  there  are  some  men  who  cannot 

stand  either  sun  or  heat,  and  who  require  a  mid-day  siesta  on 

15 


16  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

arrival  at  camp.  For  them  it  is  important  to  get  the  march  over 
as  early  as  possible,  and  they  do  not  mind  marching  when  the 
dew  lies  heavy  on  the  grass,  and  perhaps  is  still  falling.  I,  for 
my  part,  can  stand  dry  heat  a  great  deal  better  than  the  chill- 
ing dew ;  and  those  who  have  had  fever,  know  how  easily  a 
chill  may  bring  on  an  attack.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to 
lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules  applicable  to  everybody  under  all 
circumstances. 

With  perfect  weather,  running  streamlets  at  intervals  along 

the  march, 
a  good  road, 
no  illness  in 
the  caravan, 
and  a  good 
supply  of  pro- 
visions, the 
march  is  the 
very  opposite 
of  a  hardship; 
it  is  purely 
and  simply  a 
pleasure-trip. 
And  there  are 
many  such 
days  on  the 
journey. 

Shooting 
"for  the  pot" 
adds  addi- 

M ID-DAY  HALT  ON  THE  MARCH.  tioiial  Zest  to 

the  day's  en- 
joyment. Partridges  and  guinea-fowls  are  pretty  frequently 
met  with,  and  are  a  very  delicious  and  acceptable  addition  to 
one's  fare.  The  very  last  I  shot — and  meat  or  no  meat  for 
dinner  depended  on  it — were  a  partridge  and  a  brace  of  guinea- 
fowls.  I  got  them  on  the  wing  with  Xo.  5  shot,  which  is  a 
good  all-round  article,  when  one  has  not  the  means  of  carrying 
a  variety  of  cartridges  like  No.  4  for  guinea-fowls  or  Xo.  8  for 
snipe.  The  different  species  of  partridges  are  very  interesting. 
It  is  worth  while  to  skin  the  bird  and  to  preserve  the  skin  ;  one 
may  thus  collect  some  very  rare  specimens.    The  bird  certainly 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


17 


tastes  better  with  the  skin  on  ;  but  it  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that 
the  bird  is  not  fit  for  food  because  it  has  been  skinned.  On 
Christmas  Eve,  1896,  I  shot  a  partridge  at  "  Mondo"  in  Uganda. 
The  bird  I  had  for  my  Christmas  dinner.  The  skin  I  sent  home 
to  England ;  it  turned  out  to  be  a  very  rare  species  and  only 
the  second  specimen  of  the  sort  ever  sent  home.  A  similar 
thing  happened  with  a  very  handsome  partridge  I  shot  one 
day  near  the  Samia  Hills  in  Kavirondo.  The  skin  is  now  at 
the  South  Kensington  Museum,  and  the  second  one  there  of 
another  rare  species,  the  first  of  which  was  shot  near  Mount 
Elgon.  At  Campi-ya-Simba  I  shot  sand-grouse,  and  at  Kikuyu 
spur-fowl. 

But  the  wild  guinea-fowl  is  the  bird  for  the  traveller's  table. 
It  is  surprising  what  varieties  of  wild  guinea-fowl  are  met  with 
along  the  caravan  route,  to  mention  but  three  :  the  "  horned," 
the  "  crested,"  and  the  "vulturine."  This  bird  gives  the  best 
return  for  the  shot  expended  on  it ;  there  is  a  good  deal  of  meat 
on  it,  and  what  there  is  is  good.  Snipe  and  quail  are  very  tasty, 
but  yield  so  little  that  very  few  travellers  can  afford  to  waste 
a  shot  on  them.  Egyptian  goose  fills  a  big  dish,  but,  as  a  rule, 
it  is  tough  and  therefore  not  a  favourite. 

The  "  horned  "  guinea-fowl  is  perhaps  the  variety  best  known 
in  England,  as  it  is  the  only  one  which  has  been  domesticated 
and  reared  for  the  market.  But  there  are  a  great  many  different 
species  even  amongst  these  ;  some,  like  the  "  Hildebrandti,"  have 
enormous  horns  ;  others,  like  the  Uganda  species,  have  a  very 
tiny  horn  and  a  tuft  of  bristles  in  front  of  it ;  those  at  the  Kiboko 
river  are  comparatively  small  birds  ;  those  near  Lake  Nakuru  are 
exceptionally  large. 

But  a  far  handsomer  bird  is  the  "  crested  "  guinea-fowl,  having 
instead  of  the  horn  a  tuft  of  feathers  like  a  crest.  Its  call  is  not 
the  noisy  "  takak-takak-takak "  of  the  horned  bird.  Swahilies 
call  it  the  "  kororo,"  in  imitation  of  its  cry. 

The  "vulturine"  has  neither  a  horn  nor  a  crest;  it  has  a 
bald  pate  like  a  vulture,  with  a  semi-ring  of  soft  feathers  like  a 
bald  man's  occipital  patch  of  hair. 

The  guinea-fowl  has  a  noisy  and  heavy  flight.  With  a  broken 
wing  the  bird  may  yet  escape  by  running,  but  with  a  broken 
leg  it  cannot  escape  as  easily  by  flying.  It  is  almost  sure 
to  betray  its  presence  by  the  noisy  call  in  the  early  morning 
or  towards  dusk,  when  it  roosts  on  some  high  leafy  tree  and 

B 


18  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  pot-hunter.  Partridges  roost  by 
preference  in  the  branches  of  some  moderate -sized  bush  ; 
they  too  betray  their  presence  at  dawn  and  sunset  with  their 
<4  ka!  kaka  ! "  scream.  I  have  seen  guinea-fowls  clustering 
together  by  the  hundred  ;  for  instance  at  Kariandus  and  on  the 
north-west  shore  of  Lake  Naivasha,  where  1  bagged  three  with 
one  shot. 

At  Kariandus  the  guinea-fowl — it  was  on  my  third  journey — 
gave  us  once  a  useful  warning  of  the  approach  of  a  man-eating  lion 
which  infested  the  neighbourhood  at  the  time  and  had  carried 
off  more  than  one  porter  from  some  of  the  other  caravans. 
The  scream  of  the  frightened  birds  attracted  our  attention  to 
the  spot,  some  four  hundred  yards  off,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill. 
I  only  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  huge  tawny  animal  disappearing 
with  a  bound  behind  some  bushes,  whilst  a  few  more  of  the 
frightened  birds  flew  up  out  of  the  grass  into  the  trees.  All  my 
men  declared  it  was  a  lion.  We  did  not  stop  to  investigate  ; 
as  it  was  getting  dusk,  we  hurried  off  to  get  within  the  protecting 
circle  of  the  camp-fires. 

Swahili  porters  are  very  fond  of  zebra  meat.  Some  travellers 
have  a  natural  prejudice  to  eating  an  animal  belonging  to  the 
equine  species  ;  but  the  first  zebra-steak  I  tasted  I  thought 
rather  nice  ;  perhaps  the  animal  I  had  shot  was  not  a  parti- 
cularly old  one.    A  tough  old  stallion  is  certainly  not  a  verv 

JO  J  ■  J 

inviting  dish. 

I  once  saw  on  the  Athi  plains  a  herd  of  zebras,  which  must 
have  numbered  over  a  hundred  thousand  ;  for,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  they  presented  a  dense  unbroken  phalanx,  with 
young  ones  by  the  hundred  amongst  them.  I  have  never  come 
across  any  other  species  but  the  one  known  as  Burchell's  zebra. 
There  is  no  greater  risk  of  exterminating  the  zebra  by  shooting 
one  now  and  again  for  caravan  or  personal  need,  than  there 
is  of  wiping  off  the  hartebeest  antelope  by  occasionally  bagging 
one.  But  I  once  came  across  a  Eurasian  on  his  way  to  the 
coast,  who  shot  a  zebra  apparently  for  no  other  purpose  but 
to  brag  that  he  had  shot  one.  I  asked  him  whether  he  re- 
quired the  meat  for  food  for  himself  or  his  caravan.  He 
answered,  "  Xo  "  ;  and  when  I  said,  "  Perhaps  you  wanted  it  for 
its  hide  ? "  he  again  replied,  "  Xo."  Such  men  must  have  a 
very  callous  conscience.  The  zebra  has  a  peculiar  cry  which 
sounds  like  "Yap,  yap,  yap"  ;  it  has  neither  the  horse's  neigh 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


J9 


nor  the  donkey's  bray.  The  hide  makes  a  handsome  mat ;  but 
I  found  in  London  that,  next  to  the  giraffe  hide,  it  is  the  most 
expensive  to  dress  and  mount.  One  moonlight  night  at  Campi- 
ya-Simba  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  any  sleep,  owing  to 
the  incessant  call  of  the  zebras,  broken  every  now  and  then  by 
the  muffled  growl  of  some  lion ;  the  lions  were  evidently  chasing 
them.  Once  on 
the  Athi  plains 
I  came  upon  a 
dead  zebra  with 
two  hyaenas 
devouring  it. 

The  "  hoo- 
ve e-yo  oh"  of 
the  hyaena 
every  traveller 
is  sure  to  hear 
along     the  burchell's  zebra. 

greater  part  of 

the  caravan  route.  I  heard  it  already  on  Mombasa  island 
close  to  the  hospital.  Swahili  porters  hate  the  brute,  and 
not  infrequently  they  dread  it  quite  as  much  as  a  lion.  The 
hyaena  has  very  powerful  jaws  and  can  inflict  a  most  severe 
wound.  Occasionally  it  is  bold  enough  to  venture  within  the 
caravan  lines  and  to  seize  one  of  the  sleeping  porters.  More 
than  one  of  my  men  has  thus  been  dragged  along,  but  owing 
to  his  screams  and  the  general  hubbub,  has  been  relinquished 
by  the  brute.  It  seems  more  than  a  coincidence,  that  the 
men  thus  seized  have  invariably  been  the  most  infirm  and 
emaciated  in  the  caravan.  I  have  a  personal  grievance  against 
hyaenas,  besides  the  one  of  wounding  some  of  my  porters. 
Three  and  a  half  years  ago  I  shot  at  Gilgil  a  magnificent 
bustard,  quite  different  to  the  common  great  bustard  so 
constantly  met  with  between  Machakos  and  Muani.  I  might 
mention  here  that  the  great  bustard  as  a  culinary  delicacy 
has  been  greatly  overrated,  nor  is  it  such  a  very  difficult  bird 
to  shoot.  Of  course  a  rifle  has  to  be  used.  The  lesser 
bustard  or  pao  is  a  somewhat  better  bird  to  eat  ;  it  is  much 
smaller,  and  a  shot-gun  is  preferably  used  for  it.  The  huge 
bustard  I  shot  at  Gilgil  must  have  been  a  rare  bird,  as  I 
have  never  met  with  another  specimen  like   it.     It  had  an 


2o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


enormous  reddish  ruff  round  the  neck,  and,  next  to  the 
ostrich,  it  was  the  largest  bird  I  have  seen.  I  got  it  with  a 
Martini  bullet  by  a  lucky  shot  through  the  neck,  at  200  yards. 
The  skin  from  tip  of  beak  to  tip  of  toe  was  nearly  twice  the 
length  of  any  chop-box  in  my  possession.  It  was  left,  therefore, 
for  the  night  on  the  top  of  the  boxes  under  the  awning  of  my 
tent.  I  woke  up  in  the  night,  hearing  a  scrambling  noise  close 
to  me,  but  too  late  ;  some  hyaena  had  carried  off  my  bird, 
although  a  night-watchman  was  on  duty  a  few  yards  off.  It 
was  no  comfort  to  know  that  the  hyaena  must  have  made  its  last 
meal,  as  I  had  freely  used  arsenical  soap  in  preparing  the  skin. 

Since  then  I  have  never  left  anything  within  reach  of  a 
hungry  hyaena  ;  and  care  has  to  be  taken  not  to  expose  either 
saddle  or  harness  to  tempt  these  voracious  brutes.  I  have  seen 
but  two  species  of  hyaena,  the  spotted  and  the  brown.  The  one 
shown  in  the  illustration  I  got  by  setting  a  trap-gun.  The  trap 
is  easily  set.  Tie  the  bait  over  the  muzzle  of  the  rifle.  Use  in 
preference  a  piece  of  offal,  for  instance  a  bit  of  highly  odoriferous 
goatskin.  Suspend  or  fasten  the  rifle  horizontally  at  such  a 
height  from  the  ground,  that  the  hyaena  can  conveniently  grab 
the  bait.  Attention  must  be  paid  to  expose  the  bait  in  such  a 
way,  that  the  hyaena  cannot  seize  it  from  the  side,  but  has  to 
approach  the  front  of  the  muzzle.  Place  the  trigger  at  full  cock 
and  tie  it  by  a  bit  of  string  to  the  tree  or  bush  behind  it ;  now 
pull  the  muzzle  forward,  and,  if  the  trap  is  in  good  working- 
order,  the  trigger  will  at  once  respond  and  strike.  If  the  trap 
works  satisfactorily,  the  rifle  may  now  be  loaded  and  left  in  situ. 
Any  prowling  hyaena  is  sure  to  be  attracted  and  to  immolate 
itself ;  the  bullet  is  almost  certain  to  blow  its  brains  out.  In 
a  wilderness  the  only  precaution  necessary  is  to  warn  every 
one  in  the  caravan,  and  to  see  that  the  gun  points  away  from 
the  camp.  Hyaenas  seem  to  be  attacked  by  the  same  sort  of 
tick  which  is  a  parasite  of  rhinos. 

At  Sakwa's  village  in  Kavirondo  a  donkey  was  so  badly 
mauled  by  a  hyaena  that  it  died.  Most  travellers  take  some  goats 
or  sheep  along  with  their  caravan  in  the  event  of  failing  to  shoot 
game  or  to  buy  meat  from  the  natives.  The  animals  should 
be  carefully  penned  up  at  night  and  surrounded  with  a  strong 
protecting  thorn-fence,  called  "  boma  "  by  the  Swahilies.  On 
my  second  journey,  we  had  bought  some  sheep  and  goats  at 
Kikuyu,  in  anticipation  of  continuing  our  march  next  morning. 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


The  animals  were  placed  for  the  night  in  the  customary  penfold, 
outside  the  fort.  Next  morning  we  found  that  hyaenas  had 
carried  off  two  of  the  sheep,  badly  lacerated  a  third  which 
we  had  to  kill  on  the  spot,  and  wounded  a  fourth.  One  such 
lesson  serves  a  lifetime  not  to  trust  to  any  enclosure  offering 
a  single  weak  point  to  a  possible  nocturnal  visit  from  these 
marauders. 

One  of  the  pleasures  held  out  by  caravan  life  consists  in 
culling  rare  flowers  and  collecting  plants  new  to  science. 
Some  men,  as  the  explorer  Teleki  expressed  it  to  me,  have  a 


A  SPOTTED  HWENA. 

lucky  hand.  He  gathered,  more  or  less  accidentally,  one  day 
on  the  march  a  handful  of  plants  most  of  which  were  un- 
known. But  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  a  botanist  to  admire 
the  trees  and  flowers  of  Tropical  Africa. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  euphorbia-tree,  sure  to  be  met  with 
pretty  often  along  the  caravan  route.  The  specimen  shown  in 
the  illustration  grew  by  the  roadside  between  Kitanwa  and 
Kibero.  Its  majestic  dimensions  can  be  estimated  by  a  glance 
at  the  group  sheltering  underneath  it.  The  whole  of  my 
caravan  were  gathered  under  it,  though  they  are  hidden  by 
the  patch  of  grass  which  was  six  to  eight  feet  high.  In  some 
parts  of  the  Protectorate  the  euphorbia  furnishes  the  only 
firewood  procurable,  as  every  traveller  through  the  western 
parts  of  Kavirondo  soon  finds  out.    It  is  a  poor  sort  of  fuel, 


2  2 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


and  where  it  is  offered  for  sale,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  any 
other  firewood,  it  is  not  very  cheap. 

On  the  whole  there  is  a  good  supply  of  firewood  along  the 
caravan  route,  except  at  the  Government  stations,  where  it  has 
to  be  bought  from  the  natives  who  bring  it  to  the  camp  or  to 
the  appointed  market.  Everywhere  else  the  traveller,  on  pitch- 
ing camp,  sends  a  certain  number  of  his  porters  to  bring  in  fire- 
wood. The  men  naturally  gather  only  dry  wood,  fallen  or  dead 
branches,  and  thus  no  harm  is  done  to  the  bush  or  forest  which 
provides  the  caravan.  The  protecting  fence  for  the  cattle  is 
supplied  by  the  thorn-bushes.  Sometimes,  as  for  instance  near 
the  Kedong  escarpment,  one  comes  upon  a  dead  forest.  The 
gaunt  dead  trees  on  the  wind-swept  height  might  form  a  fitting 
background  for  one  of  Dore's  illustrations  of  Dante's  Inferno. 
No  doubt  the  constant  grass-fires  must  do  considerable  injury 
to  bush  and  forest-belt,  besides  destroying  all  the  young  trees 
endeavouring  to  struggle  for  their  existence  on  the  grass  plains. 
Grass-fires  are  not  necessarily  unmitigated  evils,  a  good  many 
poisonous  snakes  and  other  vermin  probably  perish  in  the 
flames. 

The  general  absence  of  palms,  or  somewhat  rare  occurrence 
of  them,  along  the  caravan  route  is  rather  noticeable.  The 
cocoa-nut  palms  of  Zanzibar  and  Mombasa,  and  along  the 
coast-line  at  Dar-es-Salaam,  Kilwa,  and  Mozambique,  form  a 
picturesque  feature  of  the  tropical  landscape. 

When  the  traveller  has  left  Mombasa  and  the  coast,  he  will 
not  see  another  cocoa-nut  palm  for  the  next  thousand  miles 
up-country ;  but  there  are  certain  other  kinds  he  is  sure  to 
meet  with.  Some  beautiful  fan-palms  can  be  seen  at  Fovira 
in  Unyoro. 

This  stately  tree  grows  to  a  considerable  height.  In  some 
parts  of  the  world  cheap  fans  are  manufactured  from  its  plaited 
leaves  ;  but  here,  perhaps  because  of  its  rarity,  it  is  not  put 
to  any  use.  Every  European  with  a  love  for  the  beauties 
of  Nature  endeavours  to  protect  such  handsome  trees  from 
wanton  destruction  at  the  hands  of  savages.  The  group  de- 
picted is  near  the  fort,  and  on  the  road  from  Fovira  to  Fajao. 
There  is  a  sinister  tragedy  connected  with  it.  I  was  told, 
one  of  the  Soudanese  soldiers  was  censured  by  his  superior 
officer  and  took  it  so  much  to  heart,  that  he  shot  himself  at 
the  foot  of  these  palms. 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


23 


Some  travellers  have  described  the  danger  of  being  attacked 
by  bees,  when  the  caravan  route  happens  to  pass  near  a  tree 
sheltering  a  swarm.  I  have  never  experienced  such  a  misfortune, 
though  I  have  had  a  sting  or  two  trying  to  hive  a  young  swarm 
at  a  station.  But  I  doubt  if  there  is  a  traveller  who  has  been  to 
Uganda  without  having  been  annoyed  some  time  or  other  by 
ants.  There  are  tiny  yellowish  ants  of  almost  microscopic  size, 
veritable  dwarfs  in  the  ant  world.    There  are  huge  black  ones,  an 


FAN-PALMS  IN  UNYORO. 


inch  long,  real  giants  compared  to  the  general  size  of  ants. 
There  is  the  friendly  variety  which  runs  over  one's  hand  or 
face  and  does  not  attempt  to  bite  or  hurt,  and  is  only  in  search 
of  scavengering  dead  insects  and  refuse.  There  is  the  bellicose 
kind  which  attacks  if  one  inadvertently  invades  its  domain  ;  and 
there  is  the  murderous,  bloodthirsty  species,  bent  on  hurting 
as  long  as  a  spark  of  life  remains  in  its  body.  There  is  also  the 
white-ant,  so  destructive  to  a  traveller's  kit. 

The  tiniest  ants  usually  commit  suicide  by  the  hundred  in  the 
traveller's  food.  The  bellicose  variety  is  of  a  light  red  colour, 
and  is  called  "  maji-moto  "  by  the  Swahilies,  which  means 


-4 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


"  boiling-water."  Their  nests  consist  of  a  lot  of  leaves  fastened 
together  with  a  sort  of  spider's  web.  These  nests  festoon  shrubs 
overhanging  some  shallow  streamlet  or  marshy  spot.  The 
incautious  may  shake  such  a  branch  as  he  passes  under  it. 
Immediately  he  receives  a  shower  of  these  warlike  insects. 
Their  bite  feels  like  a  sharp  burn,  and  whoever  is  attacked 
beats  a  hasty  retreat.  As  a  rule,  these  ants  leave  the  enemy  as 
soon  as  the  enemy  retreats  and  leaves  them.  But  the  one  called 
"siafu*1  by  the  Swahilies  is  not  to  be  shaken  off;  it  never 
lets  go  until  it  is  killed.  The  u  siafu "  march  along  in  their 
millions.  Fire  alone  will  deter  their  army  from  proceeding 
in  the  appointed  direction  ;  and  I  know  of  more  than  one 
case,  where  a  man  has  burnt  down  his  hut  by  accident  whilst 
attempting  to  repel  an  attack  of  "  siafu."  I  have  had  to 
run  away  from  this  tiny  pest.  One  particular  night  on  my 
first  journey  is  impressed  on  my  memory.  I  had  stepped 
beyond  the  camp-fires,  when  I  thought,  for  the  hrst  moment, 
that  mosquitoes  were  bothering  me  ;  but  the  next  second  I 
rushed  in  a  hurry  back  to  my  tent,  stripped  myself  in  a 
twinkling,  and  called  lustily  for  my  servants  to  help  me  to 
pick  off  these  ants  from  all  over  my  body.  Their  jaws  still 
clung  with  a  death-grip,  even  when  the  bodies  had  been 
wrenched  off. 

The  giant  ants  are  usually  seen  in  small  colonies,  diving  in 
and  out  of  their  subterranean  tunnels.  They  never  attempt  to 
molest  the  passer-by. 

The  well  known  white-ant  raises  huge  hillocks.  The  Egyp- 
tian pyramids,  compared  with  a  man's  stature,  dwindle  into 
insignificance,  if  we  compare  the  size  of  this  insect  with  the 
structure  which  it  laboriously  builds  for  itself  ;  the  proportion 
is  simply  stupendous.  The  white-ant  hillock  is  a  common 
feature  in  an  African  landscape.  The  one  represented  lay  along 
the  caravan  route  through  Singo. 

Like  bees,  the  termites  have  a  queen,  on  whose  welfare 
the  prosperity  of  the  community  depends.  Hence  it  is  a  good 
plan,  when  clearing  off  white-ants  near  a  wooden  building, 
to  endeavour  if  possible  to  find  the  queen  and  to  destroy 
her.  She  is  quite  helpless,  with  her  fat  body  nearly  two  inches 
long.  Her  attentive  subjects  usually  keep  her  boxed  up  in  a 
sort  of  dome-shaped  chamber,  the  entrance  to  which  they  block 
up  and  hide  at  any  approach  of  danger.    The  really  destructive 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


25 


creature  is  the  tiny  little  "  worker."  Among  the  "  workers  "  may 
be  seen  a  somewhat  larger  variety  armed  with  a  pair  of  pincers. 
These  are  the  "  warriors,"  which  come  rushing  to  a  breach  and 
will  fiercely  attack  any  piece  of  wood  held  out  for  them  to  bite  at. 
But  a  curious  member  of  this  strange  community  is  the  large, 
black-bodied,  and  winged  white-ant,  about  an  inch  long,  which 
issues  at  certain  seasons  from  vent-holes  of  the  white-ant  hillock 
by  the  million.    The  winged  termite  forms  part  of  the  native 


A  WHITE-ANT  HILLOCK. 

food.  In  Kavirondo  I  have  seen  natives  cluster  round  such 
an  issuing  swarm,  catch  them  by  the  handful  and  eat  them  up 
alive.  In  Uganda  the  natives  place  a  sort  of  reed  frame  over  the 
hillock  and  cover  it  up  with  bark-cloth,  leaving  the  vent-hole 
open,  and  digging  near  it  a  pit  into  which  the  ants  tumble  by  the 
hundred.  It  is  curious  to  see  how  these  winged  ants  tear  off 
their  own  wings  as  soon  as  they  touch  the  ground.  White-ants 
are  dried  by  the  bushel,  and  form  an  article  of  commerce.  On 
the  march  through  Bulamwezi  I  had  a  chance  of  trying  a  dish  of 
them  fried.  They  are  not  at  all  bad,  and  supply  nitrogenous 
food  where  the  meat-supply  falls  short.    The  chief  objection  to 


26 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


these  fried  ants  is  their  greasy  taste,  though  this  is  the  very 
thing  which  causes  them  to  be  appreciated  as  a  delicacy  by 
the  native  palate.  The  crisp  bodies  have  a  remote  resemblance 
to  shrimps. 

The  colour  of  the  ant-hill  depends  on  the  soil  of  the  locality. 
I  have  seen  greyish-white  hillocks  where  white  clay  was  in  the 
soil,  but  more  commonly  the  hill  is  formed  of  red  earth.  The 
portion  most  recently  built  up  is  usually  of  a  darker  colour, 
and  is  moist  and  soft ;  but  it  hardens  very  quickly,  and  then  a 
heavy  hartebeest  antelope  can  stand  on  it  without  doing  more 
damage  than  if  standing  on  an  ordinary  mound  of  earth.  Old 
or  perished  ant-hills  are  soon  overgrown  with  grass,  and  very 
frequently  a  tree  or  bush  grows  on  the  summit.  The  curious 
shape  of  these  hillocks  shows  that  they  are  built  very  irre- 
gularly, and  not  with  the  mathematical  precision  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  bees.  The  white-ants  met  with  in  Uganda  are 
very  different  to  those  I  saw  in  Mauritius.  The  Mauritian  species 
did  not  build  lofty  ant-hills,  but  usually  a  black  ball-shaped  mass 
round  some  tree.  The  winged  Mauritian  insect  which  swarmed 
at  certain  seasons  was  small,  white,  and  soft-bodied,  instead  of 
being  large,  black,  and  crisp-shelled,  like  the  African.  Birds  used 
to  gobble  up  the  small  Mauritian  winged  insect  just  as  greedily, 
as  the  natives  do  the  black  African  variety.  Snakes  and  other 
creatures  find  at  times  a  shelter  in  the  air-passages  which 
traverse  the  ant-hill ;  a  squirrel  I  was  chasing  near  Kinani 
escaped  me  by  diving  into  one  of  these  tunnels. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  traveller  to  have  good 
servants.  In  the  most  quiet  home-life  in  England  the  servant 
question  crops  up.  But  the  traveller's  welfare  depends  still 
more  on  the  sort  of  servants  he  engages  ;  they  must  be  honest, 
willing,  sober,  and  healthy.  If,  some  800  or  1000  miles  from 
the  coast,  a  servant  is  dismissed,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
replace  him. 

The  illustration  shows  my  last  batch  of  servants  or  "  boys," 
as  they  are  generally  called  ;  and  though,  on  the  whole,  I  have 
been  unusually  fortunate  with  my  "boys,"  these  four  were  the 
best  I  ever  had. 

They  belonged  to  four  different  nationalities  :  Mnyamwezi, 
Arab,  Wahima,  and  Swahili.  As  I  had  two  rifles  and  two 
guns,  each  boy  had  to  carry  one  on  the  march.  The  Arab  head- 
boy  had  charge  of  my  field-glasses,  revolver,  and  a  handbag 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


27 


which  held  a  number  of  small  miscellaneous  articles,  such  as 
cartridge-extractor,  matches,  cigarettes,  tin-opener,  twine,  scissors, 
knife,  &c.  The  Mnyamwezi  usually  carried  my  waterproof  on 
his  head  and  the  tin  helmet-box  slung  from  the  rifle.  The  pith- 
helmet  which  I  ordinarily  wear,  becomes  as  heavy  as  a  lump  of 
lead  if  exposed  to  a  good  shower  ;  it  is,  therefore,  placed  inside 
the  shelter  of  the  helmet-box  at  the  first  warning  of  a  downpour, 
and  exchanged  for  an  oil-skin  sou'wester.  With  servants  on  the 
march,  it  becomes  necessary  to  treat  certain  duties,  such  as 
the  carrying  of  the  waterproof,  field-glasses,  camera,  &c,  as 


MY  FOUR   "BOYS"  ON  THE  MARCH. 


matters  of  routine,  or  else,  when  the  occasion  for  their  use 
presents  itself,  the  traveller  finds  that  they  have  been  packed 
away  into  some  load  or  other,  and  that  they  cannot  be  got  at  ! 
Unless  the  traveller  is  very  strong  and  robust,  he  cannot  possibly 
march  with  all  he  may  want  at  a  moment's  notice  slung  on  to 
his  own  person. 

The  short  Wahima  boy  had  charge  of  my  butterfly-net  and 
specimen-box ;  he  and  the  Mnyamwezi  carried  also  an  alu- 
minium water-bottle  each.  It  was  the  head-boy's  routine-duty 
to  see  that  one  of  these  bottles  was  filled  with  fresh-made  tea 
before  the  march  began.  I  became  quite  a  Chinaman  in  my 
appreciation  of  cold  tea,  without  milk  or  sugar,  as  a  beverage  on 
the  march.  If  I  am  fortunate  enough  to  get  some  milk,  I  take 
it  with  me  in  the  other  bottle.  The  great  drawback  to  carrying 
milk  is,  that  unless  the  boys  have  been  well-trained  to  keep 
the  bottle  perfectly  clean  and  sweet,  the  milk  at  once  turns 


28 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


sour  and  is  spoiled  ;  and  unless  the  quantity  of  milk  fills  the 
bottle  completely,  the  shaking  for  some  hours  along  the  march 
churns  the  milk  into  butter.  Only  a  confirmed  drunkard 
would  be  so  rash  as  to  keep  pegging  at  whisky  when  marching 
along. 

Caravans  follow  in  single  file  the  "  kiangozi "  or  "  guide." 
Now  that  there  is  an  open  road  from  Mombasa  to  Kampala, 
the  guide  is  no  longer  required  ;  but  on  my  first  and  second 
journeys  the  "kiangozi"  was  an  important  personage.  Every- 
thing, however,  depends  on  the  caravan-leader.  While  there  is 
danger  ahead,  he  should  be  the  foremost,  and  where  a  treacherous 
foe  lies  in  ambush  to  cut  off  stragglers,  he  should  be  the  last 
man  in  the  caravan  and  prevent  loiterers  from  separating  from 
the  main  body. 

On  my  fourth  journey  we  had  a  narrow  escape  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Mbaruk,  the  rebel  Arab,  who  for  a  time 
rendered  the  road  between  Ndi  and  Mazera's  unsafe.  An  armed 
escort  was  sent  by  Government  at  stated  times  to  meet  caravans, 
and  we  had  just  missed  by  a  day  such  escort.  We  marched  day 
and  night  till  the  porters  were  walking  along  half-asleep,  and 
at  last  I  had  to  let  them  lie  down  for  a  while.  They  dropped  in- 
stantly asleep  in  the  middle  of  the  road  by  the  side  of  their  loads. 
But  being  the  caravan-leader,  the  responsibility  for  the  general 
safety  enabled  me  to  remain  awake,  with  loaded  rifle  and  finger 
on  trigger,  taking  upon  myself  the  anxious  watch,  as  I  could  not 
have  trusted  any  of  my  men  to  keep  awake.  It  was  only  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  but  each  minute  seemed  to  drag  into  an  eter- 
nity. Then  I  roused  the  men,  and  we  hurried  on.  Half-an-hour 
later  Mbaruk's  bands  crossed  the  very  spot,  where  I  had  been 
compelled  to  let  the  caravan  rest  and  snatch  their  short  sleep. 

The  caravan-porter  is  a  careless  being,-  and  even  the  know- 
ledge that  a  treacherous  enemy  may  be  hiding  in  the  bush  close 
by  does  not  keep  him  awake.  One  of  the  mission-caravans 
thus  exposed  itself  to  massacre.  It  was  in  1895,  and  I  was  then 
at  Mumia's  in  Kavirondo.  The  men  who  had  been  told  off 
as  night-watchmen  fell  asleep.  The  hostile  savages  suddenly 
rushed  with  their  spears  upon  the  sleepers  and  killed  most 
of  them  on  the  spot.  A  few  survivors  escaped  and  reached 
Mumia's.  I  had  to  dress  their  wounds.  One  man  had  his  scalp 
slashed  open  and  a  flap  of  it  hanging  down,  he  had  also  a  deep 
punctured  wound  in  the  nape  of  the  neck,  his  thigh  was  pierced 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


29 


through,  and  his  arm  was  gashed  in  several  places.  Others 
had  spear-thrusts  and  cuts  on  their  bodies.  I  believe  some 
twenty  porters  lost  their  lives,  owing  to  their  recklessness  in 
not  keeping  some  trustworthy  men  to  watch  over  the  common 
safety. 

Camp-cookery  is  primitive  in  the  extreme,  and  takes  place 
in  the  open  air ;  in  rainy  weather  a  rough  grass-hut  is 
run  up  to  serve  as  a  kitchen.  It  is  very  difficult  to  upset 
what  is  called  "  dusturi,"  or  caravan  custom,  according 
to  which  the  cook  is  exempted  from  carrying  anything  but 
the  camp-kettle.  The  porter  who  has  to  carry  the  pots 
and  pans  is 
styled  "  cook's 
mate,"  acts  as 
scullery  drudge, 
and  acquires  a 
sort  of  prescrip- 
tive right  of  suc- 
cession to  the 
cook's  position. 
The  cook  sits 
by  and  directs. 
However  little 
he    may  have 

to  do,  he  always  expects  to  be  supplied  with  one  or  more 
assistants.  The  photo  shows  the  cook  comfortably  settled 
in  the  shadiest  spot,  and  leisurely  awaiting  the  boiling  up  of 
something  or  other  in  the  pot  in  front  of  him  ;  the  cook's  mate 
is  busy  peeling  green  bananas,  the  only  vegetable  procurable  at 
the  time,  and  one  of  the  boys  is  assisting  in  plucking  a  bird  I 
had  shot  for  dinner  ;  the  big  earthen  pot  behind  him  shows  that 
it  was  he  too,  probably,  who  had  to  fetch  the  water. 

If  the  cook's  mate  is  intelligent,  he  soon  knows  as  much 
as  the  cook,  since  the  latter  makes  him  do  all  the  work  ;  and 
if  he  has  any  aptitude  for  it,  he  in  time  learns  something  addi- 
tional from  other  cooks,  when,  as  now  and  then  happens, 
travellers  meet  and  share  a  meal.  The  judge  at  Kampala  dis- 
covered one  day  that  his  cook  never  by  any  chance  prepared 
a  meal ;  everything  was  done  by  the  cook's  mate,  the  cook 
reserving  as  his  part  of  work  the  duty  of  marketing,  which  led 
to  "  perquisites,"  or,  according  to  Shakespeare,  "  convey  the 


CAMP-COOKERY. 


3o 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


wise  it  call."  Having  done  the  marketing,  the  cook  not  only 
enjoyed  otiam  cum  dignitate  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  but  varied 
the  monotony  of  his  existence  by  getting  drunk.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  usual  evolution  of  cook's  mate  into  cook  fol- 
lowed the  discovery. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  prima  facie  reason  why 
cooks  should  be  drunkards,  but  it  is  unfortunately  the  rule  and 
not  the  exception  that  they  take  a  little  more  than  is  good  for 
them.  My  cook  succeeded  his  predecessor  in  office  very  much 
in  the  same  way,  as  had  happened  in  the  judge's  household  ; 
for  the  expensive  one  I  had  brought  with  me  from  Mombasa 
turned  out  to  be  a  drunkard,  and  as  the  Soudanese  whisky 
at  Kampala  proved  too  great  a  temptation  to  him,  it  led  to  his 
absenting  himself  without  leave  for  three  days  on  a  drinking 
bout.  When  "  Musa"  reappeared,  he  found  "  Hamadi  Marzuk," 
the  cook's  mate,  installed  permanently  as  cook. 

This  brings  to  my  mind  a  similar  episode  which  happened 
to  two  ladies  on  a  visit  to  the  Seychelles  Islands.  Their  cook, 
a  liberated  slave,  delivered  originally  from  a  slave-dhow  by  a 
British  man-of-war,  used  to  absent  himself  frequently  for  a 
day  or  so  without  leave.  The  kind-hearted  ladies,  disposed  to 
be  doubly  kind  to  one  formerly  a  slave,  gently  remonstrated, 
whereupon  the  man  indignantly  asked  them  whether  they 
thought  they  had  to  deal  with  a  slave,  and  promptly  took  an 
extra  long  French  leave.  When  at  last  he  thought  fit  to  re- 
appear, he  found  some  one  else  installed  as  cook.  A  prompt 
but  unsuccessful  appeal  by  him  to  the  magistrate  for  restoration 
of  what  he  considered  acquired  rights  failed.  The  magisterial 
decision  still  further  embittered  his  feelings  against  everything 
British, — a  nation  which,  according  to  his  view,  professes  to  pity 
and  liberate  the  poor  slaves,  and  then  actually  refuses  to  let 
them  leave  off  work  when  and  where  they  like,  or  take  a  holi- 
day or  two  just  when  the  fancy  seizes  them  to  enjoy  one. 

The  deeply  grafted  slave-nature  of  the  negro  cannot  be 
straight  off  eradicated  and  altered,  any  more  than  a  cart-horse 
can  be  made  into  a  racehorse  by  simply  taking  it  out  of  the 
shafts  and  putting  a  light  saddle  on  its  back. 

Native  cooks,  unless  prohibited  to  do  so,  find  it  most  con- 
venient to  light  their  fire  at  the  foot  of  the  finest  tree  available, 
as  a  shelter  against  the  wind.  The  result  is  that  in  course  of 
time  a  big  hole  is  burnt  into  the  tree  itself,  and  the  tree  is 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


31 


killed.  I  have  come  across  some  very  fine  trees  destroyed  in 
this  way.  To  the  native  it  is  incomprehensible  that  the  European 
traveller,  who  may  never  pass  there  again,  should  be  solicitous 
for  the  welfare  of  a  mere  tree,  though  it  be  a  forest-king  some 
hundreds  of  years  old. 

A  common  incident  of  caravan  life  is  the  friendly  chief's 
visit.  He  is  usually  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  followers. 
Conversation  is  naturally  rather  limited  ;  but  now  and  then  it 
may  prove  very  interesting,  as  on  the  occasion  depicted.  This 


A  FRIENDLY  CHIEF  PAA'S  A  CALL. 


chief,  dwelling  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  had  met 
Casati,  Emin  Pasha,  and  other  distinguished  travellers ;  and 
he  remembered  when  Emin  Pasha's  steamers  plied  on  the  lake. 
Unless  a  native  has  had  some  intercourse  with  Europeans,  and 
has  picked  up  Swahili  which  serves  in  Africa  very  much  the 
same  purpose  that  French  does  in  Europe,  as  an  international 
means  of  communication,  interpreters  are  necessary ;  some- 
times several  different  interpreters  are  required.  I  remember, 
at  Hoima,  using  Swahili  which  had  to  be  translated  into  Arabic 
and  re-translated  into  Wanyoro  ;  how  much  of  the  original  idea 
was  correctly  reproduced  I  should  be  afraid  to  say.  On  one 
occasion  I  told  my  boy  to  ask  the  village  headman  to  sell  me 


32 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


two  or  three  eggs.  I  fortunately  happened  to  overhear  how 
my  message  was  delivered  :  "  You  are  to  bring  at  once  three 
eggs,  two  chickens,  some  ripe  bananas,  and  a  lot  of  native 
beer,  or  master  will  have  you  tied  up  to  a  tree,  and  order  you 
to  receive  a  flogging  of  twenty-five  lashes  with  the  hippo-thong. 
Now  look  sharp."  I  hastened  out  of  the  tent,  and  I  called 
for  some  one  else  to  assure  the  village  headman  that  I  had 
only  asked  to  buy  a  few  good  eggs,  and  that  the  threat  of 
flogging  was  an  utter  untruth.  Then  I  had  an  explanation 
with  my  boy  !  He  seemed  surprised  that  I  should  find  fault 
with  him  for  the  interest  he  had  taken  in  anticipating  my 
wants  by  asking  for  the  other  items  ;  as  for  the  twenty-five 
lashes  with  the  hippo-thong,  this,  the  boy  declared,  was  merely 
a  very  necessary  figure  of  speech  for  impressing  the  "  washenzi " 
(that  is,  "  savages")  with  becoming  respect  towards  a  "white 
man  !  " 

In  Kavirondo  the  food  for  the  caravan  has  to  be  bought ; 
but  in  Usoga  and  Uganda  the  chief  or  village  headman  nearest 
to  the  camp  brings  in  a  supply  of  provisions  gratis,  owing 
to  some  arrangements  made  by  the  Government.  Usually  it 
consists  of  bunches  of  green  bananas,  or  rather  plantains.  As 
a  rule,  the  headman  also  brings  a  chicken,  some  ripe  bananas, 
and  a  gourd  of  native  brew.  The  illustration  represents  a 
typical  scene  in  Uganda.  The  headman  leading  his  file  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  and  hugging  in  his  arms  the 
chicken  he  intends  to  offer  to  the  caravan  leader.  Behind 
him  comes  a  woman  with  a  gourdful  of  native  beer.  Some 
of  the  bunches  of  bananas  are  carefully  wrapped  up  in  banana 
leaves. 

It  is  only  in  disturbed  districts,  either  hostile  or  recently 
raided  by  enemies,  that  the  food  question  may  verge  on  starva- 
tion-point. I  remember  once  at  Kasokwa  in  Unyoro,  the  supply 
ran  so  short  that  we  had  but  three  green  bananas  per  man 
for  the  day's  ration.  Another  day  in  Unyoro  it  was  still  worse, 
on  the  short  journey  between  Masindi  and  Fovira.  My  com- 
panion had  left  the  selection  of  camp  to  one  of  his  Soudanese 
sergeants,  with  the  result  that  we  had  a  very  long  march,  and 
at  the  end  of  it  no  food  whatever  for  our  porters.  Next  day 
these  unfortunate  porters  had  to  do  another  terribly  long 
march  of  nearly  twelve  hours  to  reach  Fovira,  where  sweet- 
potatoes  were  distributed  to  them.    We  arrived  after  sunset, 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


33 


when  darkness  had  already  set  in,  and  these  sweet-potatoes 
were  the  first  food  the  porters  had  received  for  two  days. 

The  journey  to  Uganda  can  be  shortened  by  crossing 
Lake  Victoria  Nyanza  from  Kavirondo  to  Port  Alice.  I  once 
crossed  in  the  Church  Mission  Society's  steel-boat.  It  is  a 
sailing-boat.  We  took  three  days  from  Sio  Bay  (Kavirondo)  to 
Port  Alice  (Uganda).    We  only  sailed  as  long  as  we  had  day- 


THE  CHURCH  MISSION  SOCIETY'S  STEEL-BOAT  ON  LAKE  VICTORIA  NYANZA. 

light ;  then  we  landed,  pitched  tents,  and  passed  the  night  on 
shore.  Made  entirely  of  steel,  the  little  cabin  on  the  boat 
became  unbearable  with  the  heat,  as  there  was  not  a  cloud  to 
take  off  some  of  the  sun's  rays.  The  boat  is  hired  periodically 
by  the  Government.  My  loads,  men,  donkey,  and  sheep,  all 
found  room  aboard.  It  was  on  this  trip,  that  I  had  an  accident 
to  my  right  hand,  which  produced  blood-poisoning  and  neces- 
sitated several  operations,  two  of  them  under  chloroform,  per- 
formed by  the  Church  Mission  Society's  temporary  doctor ; 
but  in  the  end  I  lost  the  use  of  the  metacarpo-phalangeal  joint 
and  was  left  with  a  stiff  joint  for  the  rest  of  my  life. 

Caravan  life  when  it  rains  incessantly  day  and  night  becomes 

c 


34 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


decidedly  trying,  and  one  longs  for  a  drought ;  but  when  one  has 
to  suffer  from  a  continued  drought,  and  wearily  plods  along  day 
after  day  with  the  ever-present  anxiety  whether  there  will  be  any 
water  at  the  next  camp,  or  men  and  beasts  are  to  die  of  thirst, 
then  the  cry  is  for  rain,  rain  !  I  had  on  my  fifth  journey  a 
curious  experience  of  a  continued  drought  followed  immediately 
by  incessant  rain. 

News  of  the  drought  had  reached  me  at  Mombasa  ;  and  in 
anticipation  of  having  to  carry  water  for  the  caravan,  I  provided 
myself  with  a  number  of  empty  kerosin  tins.  At  Maji  Chumvi 
there  is  a  pool  of  brackish  water.  It  was  simply  poisonous 
owing  to  the  drought,  to  porters  of  passing  caravans  washing 
their  ulcers  and  sores  in  it,  and  to  an  accumulation  of  filth  in 
general.  I  had  filled  my  water-bottles  at  the  previous  camp. 
Next  day  we  reached  Samburu.  Here  we  found  the  water-holes 
absolutely  dry.  We  rested  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  parched 
with  thirst,  and  at  2  P.M.,  though  it  was  still  very  hot,  we  started 
once  more  to  reach  the  next  camp,  Taru.  Whilst  we  were  wait- 
ing at  Samburu,  some  native  women  with  gourds  of  water 
crossed  the  caravan  road  ;  they  were  returning  from  fetching 
some  nasty  brackish  water  a  long  way  off,  and  had  a  long  way  to 
go  to  their  village.  It  was  therefore  no  easy  matter  to  persuade 
them  to  sell  us  the  water  at  an  enormous  figure.  They  knew 
the  value  of  silver  rupees  and  would  take  nothing  else.  I  had 
not  enough  silver  with  me,  but  fortunately  my  headman  was 
able  to  lend  me  some  ;  I  bought  the  precious  water  and  dis- 
tributed it  by  tiny  cupfuls  to  my  caravan,  men  and  beasts. 
Some  of  my  men  began  fighting  furiously,  accusing  each  other  of 
having  taken  more  than  their  share  of  this  foul  and  nauseating 
stuff.  I  had  to  take  a  stick  and  lay  about  indiscriminately 
amongst  the  combatants,  some  of  whom  had  drawn  knives,  in 
order  to  prevent  bloodshed  and  murder. 

Caravans  march  at  the  rate  of  2J  miles  per  hour ;  we  did 
the  10J  miles  to  Taru  in  four  hours,  and  arrived  at  sunset.  A 
large  caravan  in  connection  with  the  new  railway  was  encamped 
there  ;  and  what  with  their  men  and  sixty  donkeys,  the  famous 
water-holes  of  Taru  were  nearly  dry.  I  had  to  hurry  to  fill  our 
kerosin  tins  with  what  we  could  scoop  up — fluid-mud  it  was.  I 
had  to  drink  it  too,  or  die  of  thirst.  My  men  were  too  exhausted 
to  do  any  more  marching  that  night,  and  the  heat  was  too  great 
to  risk  a  day-march  ;  but  about  2  P.M.  next  day  I  sent  some  of 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


35 


the  men  with  the  tins  of  this  so-called  water  on  to  the  next 
camp,  where  there  was  again  no  water.  Three  men  armed  with 
rifles  were  left  to  guard  the  precious  store,  upon  which  the  life 
of  the  caravan  depended.  The  following  night  we  marched 
about  twenty  miles,  and  found  our  supply  of  water  safely  guarded. 
Each  man  and  beast  got  a  pint.  I  could  only  let  them  rest 
from  9  a.m.  to  2  p.m.  through  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  then  we 
went  on  again.  Before  we  started,  I  distributed  the  rest  of 
the  water.  We  reached  Maungu,  a  march  of  about  ten  miles, 
and  rested  two  or  three  hours.     I  would  not  allow  the  tent 


to  be  put  up,  to  save  the  men  time  and  trouble ;  I  threw 
myself  dressed  on  my  camp-bed  and  slept  like  a  log.  One 
of  the  men  slept  so  soundly  near  the  fire,  that  he  burnt  a  big 
hole  into  the  canvas  covering  of  the  rifle  he  was  carrying. 
Roused  by  the  man  on  "zam,"  that  is,  on  night-guard,  loads 
were  once  more  shouldered  ;  and  a  twenty-miles  march  took 
us  at  last  to  the  river  Voi  and  saved  us  from  further  danger 
from  the  drought.  I  feel  thankful  that  we  did  not  lose  a 
single  life  ;  but  the  evil  effects  of  the  filthy  water  were  felt  by 
me ;  my  kidneys  must  have  been  affected,  as  I  suffered  for 
several  days  afterwards  from  severe  pain  in  the  kidney-region. 
The  natives  and  the  animals  only  showed  signs  of  exhaustion, 
but  not  of  pain.  The  drought  accompanied  us  without  inter- 
mission as  far  as  the  Tsavo  river,  but  without  any  further  risk 
to  life. 


A  KIBANDA,  OR  GRASS-THATCHED  REED-HUT. 


36 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


At  Tsavo  it  rained,  and  from  here  as  far  as  the  Athi  river  we 
had  day  and  night  incessant  rain.  The  porters  got  soaked  to 
the  skin  on  the  march,  and  in  spite  of  mackintosh  and  sou'- 
wester, I  got  pretty  wet  too.  Arrived  in  camp,  the  tent  had  to 
be  opened  on  the  muddy  ground,  and  pitched  in  pelting  rain. 
Everything  was  damp  and  sticky  and  mustv.  It  rained  all 
night.  Next  morning  the  tent  was  folded  up,  with  the  rain 
pouring  steadily  down.  We  marched  ankle-deep  in  mud  in  a 
continued  downpour,  as  it  a  second  deluge  had  set  in.  With 
cold  feet,  sopping-wet  socks,  and  squashy  boots,  we  trudged 
along,  bespattered  with  mud,  half-blinded  by  the  rain,  and 
shivering  with  cold,  to  reach  a  sodden  camp  and  repeat 
the  experiences  of  the  preceding  days.  Fever,  diarrhoea,  and 
dysentery  broke  out  in  the  caravan.  At  Mto-ya-Mawe  I  just 
managed  to  reach  camp,  but  with  a  raging  attack  of  fever 
on  me.  Next  day  we  got  to  Muani,  and  half  my  caravan  being 
ill,  I  stopped  a  full  day  to  rest  my  men  ;  but  the  food  question 
was  so  serious  that  we  had  to  push  on  again.  We  reached  the 
Athi  river,  where  we  hailed  the  cessation  of  the  rain  and  the 
reappearance  of  the  sunshine  with  joyful  hearts.  From  here 
to  the  end  of  the  journey  we  had  beautiful  weather  and  only 
occasionally  a  rainy  day.  I  was  glad,  when  I  handed  over  my 
men  at  headquarters,  that  I  could  add  that  we  had  not  lost  a 
single  life  on  the  journey. 

In  Uganda  the  traveller  sometimes  comes  across  a  "kibanda," 
or  grass-thatched  reed-hut,  which  proves  a  very  acceptable  shelter 
to  him  during  the  rainy  weather,  because  he  can  light  a  fire 
inside  and  dry  his  clothes.  The  "kibanda"  has  a  door,  but  no 
windows  ;  there  may  or  may  not  be  a  reed-screen  to  close  the 
door.  The  objection  to  rest-houses  of  this  description  is,  that 
they  are  very  short-lived,  and  soon  tumble  to  wreck  and  ruin, 
as  there  is  usually  nobody  to  look  after  them.  The  vermin  of 
the  neighbourhood  take  possession  of  an  uninhabited  hut.  It 
becomes  the  haunt  of  cockroaches,  the  trysting-place  for  rats, 
and  the  home  of  bats.  It  harbours  mosquitoes  by  the  thousand, 
and  supplies  food  for  the  white-ants.  There  was  a  sort  of  half- 
way house  between  Kampala  and  Port  Alice,  which  provided  all 
these  different  attractions. 

I  lived  for  three  months  in  a  "kibanda"  at  Kampala.  The 
white-ants  nearly  destroyed  the  canvas  bag  of  my  camp-bed, 
and  I  had  to  keep  such  goods  raised   above  the   ground  on 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


37 


sun-dried  bricks  to  prevent  the  white-ants  from  getting  at 
them.  As  for  rats,  my  servant  once  killed  three  with  one 
blow  from  his  stick ;  and  the  rat-trap  I  had  brought  from 
England  I  considered  one  of  my  most  useful  investments. 
After  I  had  killed  about  a  score  of  rats,  I  gave  up  keeping 
count  of  them. 

The  late  Major  Thruston,  when  in  command  in  Unyoro,  put 


THE  TRAVELLER'S  REST-HOUSE  AT  FAJAO. 


up  at  Fajao  a  grass-thatched  traveller's  rest-house  of  Soudanese 
pattern,  and  he  very  kindly  placed  it  at  the  disposal  of  all  who 
had  to  visit  the  station.  As  he  had  given  orders  that  the  hut 
should  be  looked  after  and  kept  clean  and  tidy,  it  was  a  wel- 
come boon  to  every  visitor.  The  hut  was  surrounded  by  a 
reed-fence  which  secured  privacy.  A  hut  for  servants,  and 
other  sanitary  necessaries,  had  not  been  neglected.  The  spot 
was  well  chosen,  and  tall  forest  trees  overshadowed  it.  On 
fine  days  1  used  to  take  my  meals  invariably  out  of  doors, 
under  the  pleasant  shade  of  the  trees,  and  watch  the  green 
squirrels  frolicking  among  the  branches,  and  listen  to  the 
yellow  weaver-birds  holding  their  noisy  palaver. 


38  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Every  caravan  should  be  provided  with  a  thoroughly  good 
native  headman.  Headmen  now  get  as  much  as  40  to  60  rupees 
per  month,  i.e.  £2,  10s.  to  £4.  They  are  allowed  at  least  one  and 
very  often  two  porters  to  carry  their  tent  and  private  effects, 
and  they  receive  double  the  daily  ration  measured  out  to  a 
porter.  The  headman's  duties  are  important  and  manifold. 
He  looks  after  the  men,  that  they  do  not  desert  or  shirk 
their  work,  that  they  keep  together,  that  they  do  not  plunder  or 
rob  friendly  natives,  that  firewood  is  provided  and  camp-fires 
are  maintained  at  night,  that  night-watchmen  are  appointed 
and  do  their  work,  that  the  cattle  is  protected  against  wild 
beasts,  that  the  men  get  their  rations,  and  that,  where  necessary, 
a  sufficient  supply  of  food  for  the  caravan  is  obtained  from  the 
natives. 

The  headman  has  usually  one  or  more  "  askaries "  to  help 
him.  The  askari  is  a  sort  of  assistant-headman,  but  he  has  two 
specially  important  duties.  He  has  to  defend  the  caravan  in 
case  of  attack,  and  for  this  reason  he  is  supplied  with  a  rifle  and 
twenty  rounds  of  ammunition.  He  also  acts  as  porter  in  case 
of  emergency,  and,  as  such,  he  has  to  shoulder  the  load  of  any 
one  taken  suddenly  ill.  Askaries  are  paid  £1  a  month  and 
their  rations,  but  they  have  to  carry  their  own  kit ;  a  porter 
is  not  allowed  for  their  special  use. 

The  healthiest  style  of  travelling  is  on  foot.  My  very  first 
caravan  journey,  from  Lake  Nyassa  to  Kilwa,  was  on  foot  from 
the  day  of  departure  to  the  day  of  arrival.  But  on  the  first 
journey  from  Mombasa  to  Uganda,  I  rode  nearly  the  whole 
distance  on  a  donkey.  Those  who  can  afford,  it  ride  a  horse. 
Some  are  very  lucky  in  bringing  their  horses  safely  through  the 
tsetse  region  ;  others  are  particularly  unlucky.  One  man  lost 
his  third  and  last  horse  in  Kavirondo.  The  horse  requires  a 
good  groom,  and  constant  care  and  protection  against  chills. 
The  donkey  is  simply  let  loose,  and  has  to  find  its  own  food. 
It  is  a  very  hardy  animal,  and  wants  next  to  no  attention.  The 
white  Muscat  donkeys  at  Mombasa  are  rather  expensive  ;  not 
unfrequently  they  are  dearer  than  horses.  The  donkey  that 
has  suited  my  purse  and  requirements  best,  has  been  the 
ordinary  grey  Masai  donkey.  The  very  first  I  had,  fell  one 
day  near  Kilungu  and  sprained  its  leg  which  became  so  swollen 
that  the  poor  beast  could  not  walk  any  further.  It  had  to  be 
left  behind,  and  was  handed  over  to  some  friendly  Wakamba.  On 


CARAVAN  LIFE 


39 


another  journey  I  lost  a  very  fine  donkey  in  crossing  the  Nzoia 
river.  It  was  allowed  to  swim  across,  by  the  side  of  the  native 
dug-out,  its  head  being  supported  and  held  up  by  some  of  the 
men.  When  near  the  other  bank  they  cast  the  poor  brute  off, 
and  the  stupid  native  struck  and  pushed  it  with  a  long  bamboo. 
The  current  was  very  swift,  and  the  bank  too  steep  for  landing. 
The  donkey  was  carried  away  by  the  current  and  sank  ;  we 
never  saw  it  again.  Only  once  have  I  lost  a  donkey  from  the 
tsetse-fly. 

But  my  best  donkey  was  "Jack,"  my  last  purchase.  I  bought 
him  at  Mombasa  for  75  rupees  =  £$  ;  he  accompanied  me  to 
Lake  Albert,  and  returned  with  me  to  Mombasa,  serving  me 
for  fully  two  thousand  miles.  He  never  had  a  day's  illness 
or  a  sore  back ;  and  when  I  left  for  England,  I  sold  him 
for  the  sum  I  originally  paid  for  him.  He  was  a  young  grey 
donkey  and  very  shy  at  first,  as  he  had  never  been  ridden. 
He  suspected  everybody,  and  for  a  long  time  would  not  make 
friends  with  anybody.  The  slightest  noise  behind  him  or  at 
his  side  would  make  him  perform  sudden  gymnastic  exercises 
in  which  I,  on  his  back,  failed  to  accompany  him,  with  the 
result  that  I  was  landed  over  his  head  or  thrown  sideways. 
I  had  one  or  two  rather  hard  spills.  On  one  occasion  I  was 
so  badly  hurt  that,  to  proceed  on  the  journey,  I  had  to  be 
lifted  into  the  saddle.  My  Arab  head-boy  then  had  the  bril- 
liant idea  of  placing  one  of  my  thick  bright-coloured  blankets 
under  me.  I  got  so  accustomed  to  the  soothing  influence 
of  a  folded  blanket  between  me  and  the  saddle,  especially  on 
long  journeys,  that  even  when  I  was  well  again,  1  continued 
the  use  of  the  blanket ;  I  can  recommend  its  use,  especiallv 
for  lean  individuals  like  myself.  The  blanket  has  certainly 
proved  a  great  protection  to  my  saddle  which  arrived  in 
good  condition  at  Mombasa,  notwithstanding  exposure  on  the 
donkey's  back  for  2000  miles  in  all  weathers. 

"Jack"  became  extremely  tame  and  docile;  he  always  kept 
close  to  the  camp,  and  at  once  stopped  if  we  called  for  him. 
None  of  my  former  donkeys  would  stir  a  yard  without  a  com- 
panion preceding  it,  thus  necessitating  my  keeping  two  animals. 
But  "Jack"  has  always  been  satisfied  to  do  the  journey  without 
donkey-companionship.  Only  once  did  he  stray  from  camp. 
When  we  left  Masindi,  we  passed  through  the  Swahili  settle- 
ment, and  "Jack"  came  suddenly  upon  his  lady-love.  Both 


4o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


seemed  heart-broken  at  parting  from  each  other,  and  brayed 
most  lustily  together.  During  the  march  every  now  and  again 
his  grief  found  vent  in  a  prolonged  and  mournful  bray.  Arrived 
in  camp,  he  was  set  free  and  left  to  himself.  Soon  there  was 
a  general  commotion.  "Jack"  had  disappeared!  It  turned 
out,  that  his  love  for  "  the  girl  he  left  behind  him "  over- 
came a  loyalty  of  two  years'  duration  to  his  master,  and  he 
had  trotted  back.  My  boys  had  the  bother  of  returning  to 
Masindi  to  fetch  him,  and  for  the  next  two  or  three  days 
"  Jack"  marched  along  in  very  low  spirits. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE   UGANDA  PROTECTORATE. 

THE  Uganda  Protectorate  does  not  mean  simply 
Uganda— the  kingdom  which  the  famous  autocrat  King 
Mtesa  ruled  over  once  upon  a  time  —  but  it  in- 
cludes also  the  vast  realms  around  it,  territories  where 
no  white  man  has  ever  passed,  lakes  only  recently  dis- 
covered by  hardy  explorers  and  travellers,  and  races  of  men 
differing  from  each  other  in  language,  in  manners,  and 
in  customs.  Those  who  read  stirring  records  of  explorations 
and  discoveries  associated  with  names  like  Livingstone,  Speke, 
Grant,  and  Mungo  Park,  are  very  much  mistaken,  if  they 
imagine  that  similar  achievements  are  out  of  their  reach  because 
all  that  can  be  discovered  has  been  discovered.  Within  the  last 
few  years  Count  Teleki  has  added  to  the  map  two  new  lakes, 
lying  close  together,  and  named  by  him  Lake  Rudolph  and 
Lake  Stephanie.  Rebmann,  incited  by  stories,  by  many  believed 
to  be  mythical,  that  a  huge  mountain,  the  summit  covered 
with  eternal  snow,  lay  in  Africa,  endeavoured  to  find  it  ;  and 
the  famous  snow-clad  Kilimanjaro  was  added  to  general  geo- 
graphical knowledge,  though  for  some  time  the  discovery  was 
d^believed  in  Europe.  It  seemed  impossible  to  give  credence 
to  a  story  of  "  eternal  snow"  under  the  scorching  rays  of  an 
African  sun. 

Kilimanjaro  lies  comparatively  near  the  coast,  and  every 
traveller  to  Uganda  who  cares  to  look  out  for  it  can  see  the 
white  glistening  summit ;  for  the  caravan  route  passes  within 
sight  of  the  majestic  snow-king.  Sitting  by  the  camp-fire,  I 
have  listened  to  Arab  and  Swahili  stories,  asserted  of  course 
to  be  absolutely  true,  though  sounding  to  my  sceptical  ear  even 
more  mythical  than  Rebmann's  story  of  the  snow  mountain  can 
ever  have  sounded  in  his  day.    One  of  the  stories  asserts  as  a 


42 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


fact,  that  far  beyond  the  present  limits  of  the  white  man  in  these 
regions,  there  lies  a  land,  where  gold  is  plentiful,  and  where  the 
natives  are  ignorant  of  its  value  or  its  use,  except  that  the 
humblest  can  and  does  use  it  as  the  cheapest  ornament  where- 
with to  deck  himself.  Hardy  Arab  traders,  it  is  said,  have 
now  and  again  managed  to  penetrate  to  these  auriferous  realms 
which  are  difficult  to  reach  owing  to  enormous  foodless  tracts 
which  the  traveller  has  first  to  cross.  The  knowledge  of  the 
road  to  this  land  of  gold,  and  everything  that  might  betray  its 
whereabouts,  is  kept,  so  they  say,  a  secret  by  the  Arabs.  On 
my  last  journey  I  met  an  Arab  caravan  proceeding  up  country, 
ostensibly  to  trade  for  ivory  and  to  shoot  elephants  if  necessary. 
My  Arab  servant  was  an  old  friend  of  the  Arab  in  command  of 
the  caravan  ;  this  led  to  my  having  a  long  chat  with  them  about 
those  gold  countries.  The  Arab  told  me  that  if  his  provisions 
held  out,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  attempt  the  journey. 
He  was  going  to  buy  up  provisions  in  the  market  at  Fort 
Smith.  He  professed  to  know  a  good  deal  about  the  subject, 
and  according  to  him  this  gold  country  lies  far  beyond  Lake 
Rudolph,  a  lake  which  other  travellers  have  visited  since  Teleki's 
discovery.  The  Arab  had  apparently  as  firm  a  faith  in  the 
existence  of  such  a  gold  country  as  Columbus  had  in  the  New 
World  he  discovered. 

I  can  quite  understand  the  food  difficulty  to  be  an  almost 
impassable  barrier.  There  was  a  food  difficulty  on  my  first 
journey  to  Uganda,  owing  to  the  caravan  route  passing  for 
some  twenty  days  through  an  uninhabited  country ;  but  the 
difficulty  is  minimised  by  knowing  exactly  the  number  of  days 
it  takes  a  caravan  to  traverse  the  distance.  A  better  insight 
into  the  risks  of  travelling  through  a  foodless  region,  without 
knowing  exactly  how  long  the  journey  may  last,  I  experienced 
when  I  travelled  through  the  Magwangwara  country  in  German 
East  Africa  to  the  coast.  The  Magwangwara  kings  had  delibe- 
rately surrounded  their  country  with  an  enormous  starvation 
area,  by  ruthlessly  destroying  villages  and  whole  races  around 
them.  The  foodless  belt  was  a  greater  protection  to  them  than 
the  Great  Wall  of  China  has  been  to  the  Chinese  emperors. 
This  wilderness  my  nephew"  and  I  determined  to  penetrate. 
We  provided  ourselves  as  best  we  could  for  the  journey. 
Before  we  reached  the  end  of  our  expedition,  we  were  driven 
to  subsist  on  starvation  allowance,  a  handful  of  rice  in  the 


THE  UGANDA  PROTECTORATE  43 


morning  and  in  the  evening,  and  one  small  tin  of  sardines 
per  day  shared  with  scrupulous  fairness.  We  soon  knew  by 
heart  how  many  sardines  a  small  tin  usually  contains.  On 
this  meagre  allowance  we  marched  on  foot  twenty,  some- 
times thirty,  miles  per  day.  From  the  day  we  left  Lake  Nyassa 
to  the  day  we  reached  Kilwa  took  us  exactly  two  months. 
Sometimes,  but  very  rarely  indeed,  did  an  antelope  as  a  wind- 
fall find  its  way  to  our  table. 

Count  Teleki  describes  in  his  book,  how  he  had  to  shoot 
game  for  his  caravan  ;  yet  more  than  one  of  his  porters  suc- 
cumbed to  want  of  food,  according  to  what  I  was  told  by 
some  of  my  men  who  had  accompanied  Teleki.  I  have  since 
heard,  how  other  travellers,  after  crossing  such  foodless  tracts, 
have  found  themselves  suddenly  amongst  strange  races  of  men 
living  in  comparative  affluence,  owning  flocks  and  herds,  and 
possessing  an  abundant  store  of  corn. 

The  gold-fields  that  have  been  found  in  South  Africa  make 
it  probable  that  eastward  there  are  other  gold-fields  not  yet  dis- 
covered. 

We  all  know  how  valuable  ivory  is  ;  in  fact,  the  British 
Government,  to  protect  the  elephant  from  extermination,  has 
already  defined  a  large  area  as  a  sanctuary  for  it.  By  recent 
game  laws  in  British  East  Africa,  the  hunter  has  to  pay  .£25  to 
start  with,  and  this  license  permits  the  holder  to  shoot  not 
more  than  two  elephants.  Yet  Count  Teleki  told  me  himself 
of  regions  he  has  visited  during  his  explorations,  where  natives 
were  ignorant  of  the  value  of  ivory,  and  where  consequently  it 
lay  on  the  ground  where  the  elephant  had  died.  Many  a  tusk  was 
simply  picked  up  by  Teleki.  It  almost  sounds  a  fable,  but  I 
had  it  from  his  own  mouth,  that  he  returned  to  the  coast  with 
ivory  which  realised  straight  off  something  hke^2000.  He  did 
not  go  as  a  trader,  but  as  an  explorer,  never  expecting  to  get 
any  pecuniary  returns  from  his  journey,  still  less  such  a  sum. 

It  is  therefore  not  impossible,  that  unknown  races  in  some 
of  these  unknown  regions  have  a  superabundance  of  gold 
which,  like  the  ivory  just  mentioned,  is  spurned  by  the  foot  of 
the  savage  who  is  unconscious  of  its  value. 

Hitherto  neither  gold  nor  coal,  nor  any  other  mineral 
resources,  have  been  discovered  either  in  Uganda  or  in  the 
East  African  Protectorate ;  some  silver  was  found  near  the 
coast,  but  not  worth  the  expense  of  working  it. 


44 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


The  Uganda  Protectorate  lies  at  the  Equator  ;  the  Equator 
passes  through  it.  By  rights  it  should  be  called  Equatorial 
Africa,  but  this  name  has  already  been  appropriated  by  Gordon 
Pasha,  Emin  Pasha,  Casati,  and  others  to  territories  lying  far 
north  of  Uganda  and  of  the  Equator.  A  glance  at  the  map 
shows  that  Uganda  is  nearer  to  the  centre  of  Africa  than  the 
territories,  known  as  the  British  Central  Africa  Protectorate, 
which  lie  around  the  Shire  river  and  Lakes  Nyassa  and  Tan- 
ganyika. 

The  Uganda  Protectorate  stretches  around  the  Lakes  Victoria 
Nyanza,  Albert  Nyanza,  and  Albert  Edward  Nyanza  ;  it  therefore 
contains  the  principal  sources  of  the  White  Nile.  The  districts 
into  which  the  Protectorate  has  been  divided  are  the  Eldoma 
Ravine,  Kavirondo,  Usoga,  Uganda  Proper,  Unyoro,  and  Toru. 
Further  subdivision  may  be  expected  with  every  increase  in  the 
number  of  officials. 

It  is  a  little  misleading  to  say  that  the  climate  of  Uganda  is 
a  sort  of  unbroken  English  summer,  because  there  is  a  con- 
siderable difference  between  the  cold  of  Mau  and  the  heat  of 
parts  of  Unyoro.  There  are  areas  where  white  clothing  is  the 
most  comfortable  to  wear  all  the  year  round,  and  there  are 
other  areas  where  white  clothing  is  never  worn.  The  heat  is 
never  anywhere  excessive,  nor  is  the  cold.  On  the  whole  the 
climate  is  suitable  for  Europeans. 

Local  labour  is  cheap,  about  threepence  a  day,  but  the  diffi- 
culty has  been,  and  still  is,  to  get  the  native  to  work  for  hire  ; 
gradually,  however,  natives  are  coming  forward  of  their  own 
accord  as  labourers.  The  principal  export  is  ivory,  on  which  a 
duty  of  15  per  cent,  is  levied,  whether  it  be  elephant-ivory  or 
hippo-ivory.  An  import  tax  of  5  per  cent,  is  levied  on  all  im- 
ports of  whatever  nature.  Trade  in  gunpowder  and  in  arms, 
except  under  conditions  as  laid  down  by  the  Brussels  Act  of 
International  Law,  is  prohibited,  and  so  is  the  sale  to  natives  of 
alcoholic  beverages.  By  recent  regulations  neither  are  stills 
permitted,  except  under  certain  restraints.  Smaller  taxes,  under 
various  names,  such  as  a  road-tax  of  half  a  rupee  per  load,  and 
an  annual  compulsory  registration-fee  of  two  rupees  and  a  half 
on  every  British  subject,  are  also  enforced. 

At  present  the  expenditure,  not  counting  the  millions  spent 
on  the  Uganda  Railway,  is  greatly  in  excess  of  revenue.  The 
reasons  which  influenced  the  British  Government  to  proclaim  a 


THE  UGANDA  PROTECTORATE 


Protectorate  over  Uganda,  when  access  to  it  was  difficult  and 
expensive,  have  naturally  become  stronger,  as  regards  continued 
occupation,  in  presence  of  the  Uganda  Railway  in  construction 
from  south  to  north,  and  of  the  success  of  the  Soudan  campaign 
working  from  north  to  south.  If  England  were  to  withdraw 
from  Uganda,  some  other  European  Power  would  at  once  step 
in  and  take  possession,  in  spite  of  there  being  no  immediate 
pecuniary  return  for  the  heavy  expense  incurred  by  occupation. 
It  follows  that  an  empire  like  Great  Britain,  in  vigorous  growth 
and  expansion,  had  to  take  over  Uganda. 

But  to  realise  Lugard's  hope  of  an  East  African  Empire 
something  further  is  wanted  besides  the  missionary  and  the 
official.  European  settlers  may  perhaps  be  encouraged  to  join 
us,  by  liberal  concessions  of  substantial  grants  of  land  with  as 
few  restrictions  as  possible  to  their  earning  a  livelihood  as 
traders  or  planters,  farmers  or  stock-breeders,  artisans  or  manu- 
facturers. Coffee,  cotton,  sugar-cane,  and  rice,  can  be  grown 
in  some  districts,  European  cereals  in  others. 

No  doubt,  as  soon  as  a  fair  start  in  this  direction  has  been 
made,  European  pluck  and  enterprise  will  tap  other  resources 
not  even  thought  of  at  present. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    RAVINE  DISTRICT. 


T 


MASAI  WOMAN  WITH 
GOURD-BOTTLE. 


HE  Ravine  district  includes  the  terri- 
tory between  Kikuyu  and  Kavirondo. 
Nearly   half-way   between  the  two 
lies    the   Eldoma   Ravine,   where  a 
station   has   been   built,   called   the  Ravine 
Station,  which  is   now  the  headquarters  of 
the  district.    Between  Kikuyu  and  the  Eldoma 
Ravine  only  wandering   nomadic  tribes  are 
met  with.    I  have  passed  along  this  road 
more  than  once   without   meeting  a  single 
human   being    far   or   near,   and    at  other 
times  I  have  found  here  crowds  of  natives 
temporarily  settled,  scattered  kraals,  and  vast 
herds. 

Before  the  cart-road  was  laid  down  by 
the  late  Captain  Sclater,  the  transport  of 
goods  from  Fort  Smith  to  the  Ravine  was  no  easy  matter. 
With  perseverance  the  officer  in  charge  of  Kikuyu  established 
a  regular  service  by  means  of  Wakikuyu,  more  and  more 
of  whom  offered  themselves  as  porters,  till  at  last  caravans 
several  hundred  strong  were  constantly  on  the  move  along 
the  road. 

Prior  to  the  days  of  the  Protectorate,  the  Wakikuyu  were 
hostile  and  treacherous.  It  is  only  gradually  that  they  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  inevitable,  and  have  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of 
British  rule.  The  Wakamba  who  fight  with  bows  and  arrows, 
are  on  one  side  of  them,  and  on  the  other  are  the  Masai  who 
use  spears  and  swords.  The  Wakikuyu  have  adopted  both 
methods  of  fighting.    A  group  who  visited  my  camp  on  my  last 

journev  afford  a  good  illustration.    The  Wakikuyu  spear-head 

46 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


47 


is  broad  and  leaf-shaped.  The  sword  is  of  the  Masai  pattern, 
heavier  towards  the  pointed  end  than  at  the  hilt.  The  arrows  are 
carried  in  a  leathern  quiver  which  has  an  ornamental  tuft  of 
ostrich  feathers  and  is  slung  from  the  back.  One  of  the  men 
wore  a  short  grass-apron,  but  the  majority  had  adopted  the 
Masai  style  of  wrapping  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  round  the  body, 
passing  it  over  one  shoulder,  and  letting  it  reach  half-way  down 
the  thighs.    The  Wakikuyu  are  extremely  fond  of  ornaments, 


WAKIKUYU  MEN. 


and  deck  themselves  out  with  beads,  iron-wire,  and  brass,  in  the 
shape  of  ear-rings,  necklaces,  bracelets,  and  anklets.  Their  huts 
are  hidden  away  in  the  woods,  as  a  protection  against  enemies  ; 
and  for  a  similar  reason  they  do  not  keep  poultry,  as  they  are 
afraid  that  the  crowing  of  the  cocks  might  betray  the  where- 
abouts of  their  dwellings. 

They  are  always  cutting  down  parts  of  the  forest  in  order 
to  plant  the  clearings  with  various  sorts  of  native  corn,  sweet- 
potatoes,  yams,  and  casava  ;  but  such  constant  and  ruthless 
destruction  of  the  forests  must  bring  its  own  punishment  some 
day.     It  is  not  as  if  there  were  no  other  land  for  them  to  till, 


48  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


for  they  abandon  the  last  clearing  in  order  to  extract  the 
goodness  from  the  virgin  soil  of  an  adjoining  area. 

On  my  last  journey,  I  travelled  to  the  coast  with  a  companion 
who  had  only  been  one  year  up-country ;  he  told  me  he  too 
had  noticed  a  great  destruction  of  forest  even  in  this  short  space 
of  time.  Forest-laws  have  been  recently  passed.  They  weigh 
heavy  on  the  white  man  who  is  to  plant  ten  young  trees  for 
every  piece  of  timber  he  fells,  but  are  a  dead  letter  as  regards 
the  wholesale  and  wanton  felling  practised  by  the  natives. 
A  well-organised  Forest  Department,  embracing  both  Protec- 
torates and  placed  under  an  experienced  and  energetic  traveller 
acquainted  with  these  regions,  would  certainly  add  another  item 
to  the  expenditure,  but  would  as  certainly  produce  incalculable 
benefits  in  the  future. 

The  Wakikuyu  women  carry  their  burdens  slung  from  a 
leather  strap  which  passes  across  the  head.  They,  too,  help  in 
the  transport  service,  and  carry  European  loads  and  boxes, 
weighing  40  lbs.  and  more,  exactly  in  the  same  way.  They  dress 
like  the  Masai  and  load  themselves  with  ornaments  ;  to  see 
twenty  to  thirty  huge  rings  of  beads  stuck  through  one  ear  is 
not  at  all  an  uncommon  sight.  They  never  go  uncovered,  and 
appear  to  be  modest  and  gentle. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1895  a  large  caravan  of  Wakikuyu  and 
Swahilies  was  returning  from  the  Ravine  to  Fort  Smith  ;  it 
reached  the  Kedong  Valley  and  came  across  some  Masai 
kraals.  How  the  subsequent  bloodshed  arose  is  not  exactly 
known,  as  only  a  few  survivors  managed  to  escape.  Accord- 
ing to  one  story,  the  Swahilies  behaved  aggressively  towards 
the  Masai  and,  relying  on  their  superior  numbers,  tried  to 
levy  blackmail.  The  Masai  resented  it,  and  in  a  moment  a 
fierce  carnage  was  going  on.  Over  400  of  the  unfortunate 
Wakikuyu  and  Swahilies  were  slaughtered  ;  for  the  lust  of  blood 
once  roused,  innocent  and  guilty  were  indiscriminately  butchered. 
The  news  of  the  disaster  was  brought  to  Fort  Smith,  and  was 
immediately  followed  by  another  tragedy ;  for  a  trader,  Mr. 
Dick,  was  on  his  way  up-country.  A  French  scientific  mission, 
also  on  its  way  to  Uganda,  arriving  at  the  Fort,  two  of  their 
number,  military  men,  volunteered  to  recall  Dick.  They  found 
him  ;  but  instead  of  persuading  him  to  return  with  them  to 
the  security  of  the  Fort,  he  persuaded  them  to  accompany  him 
across  the  Kedong.    What  were  the  motives  which  prompted 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


49 


the  trader,  no  one  will  ever  know.  According  to  some,  he  wanted 
to  pay  out  the  Masai  for  the  horrible  and  wholesale  butchery 
they  had  just  perpetrated ;  according  to  others,  he  thought  it  a 
good  pretext  for  capturing  their  valuable  herds.  He  did  seize  a 
lot  of  cattle  ;  for  several  hundred  head  were  brought  in  by  the 
Frenchmen  to  the  Fort.  I  met  these  gentlemen  a  few  weeks 
later  in  Uganda  and,  as  I  knew  Dick  personally,  gathered  from 
them  some  particulars  of  the  fight.  They  told  me  that  Dick 
fought  most  fearlessly  and  bravely  and,  being  an  excellent  shot, 
dropped  one  Masai  after  another.     He  went  to  pick  up  the 


shield  and  spear  of  a  Masai  he  had  just  slain,  when  the  enemy 
made  a  desperate  rush,  and  at  a  critical  moment  Dick's  rifle 
jammed.  He  turned  round  to  his  men  to  get  another,  when 
a  Masai  rushed  forward  and  speared  him  through  the  back, 
killing  him  on  the  spot.  The  Frenchmen  killed  Dick's  assailant, 
but  righting  against  overwhelming  odds,  they  were  compelled 
to  retreat  to  the  Fort.  In  a  couple  of  days  they  returned  to 
the  scene  of  the  fight  in  order  to  bury  Dick.  They  found  the 
body  stripped  naked,  and  buried  it  on  the  Kedong  escarpment. 
They  erected  a  plain  wooden  cross  over  the  grave,  which  I 
saw  still  standing  when  I  last  journeyed  that  way.  The  inscrip- 
tion simply  states,  that  the  cross  was  erected  by  his  comrades 
in  arms  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  slain  by  the  Masai. 
One  of  these  two  Frenchmen  has  died  since ;   he  suffered 


WAKIKUYU  WOMEN. 


D 


So  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


from  fever  on  his  way  down  the  Congo  ;  broken  in  health  he 
reached  Paris,  and  died. 

Poor  Dick  !  I  felt  sorry  for  him.  He  was  a  most  energetic 
and  resolute  man,  so  that  the  Swahilies  had  dubbed  him  "  Simba 
uleia,"  which  means  "  the  lion  of  Europe."  He  was  too  inde- 
pendent a  man  to  get  on  well  with  everybody.  I  was  able  to 
render  him  a  slight  service,  when  he  was  down  with  fever  ; 
and  as  I  declined  to  accept  payment,  he  sent  all  his  men, 
two  hundred  of  them,  to  work  for  a  couple  of  days  at  the 
place  which  I  was  then  having  cleared  for  the  erection  of 
some  Government  buildings.  I  little  thought,  when  he  said 
good-bye  to  me  at  Kavirondo,  that  he  was  about  to  join  the 
number  of  those  who  have  found  their  grave  in  Africa. 

For  months  the  Kedong  valley  bore  witness  to  the  dreadful 
slaughter.  When  I  passed  that  way  some  months  later,  the  road- 
side for  miles  was  strewn  with  blood-soaked  scraps  of  clothing 
and  with  skeletons.  These  belonged  to  mortally  wounded 
men  who  had  tried  to  escape  from  the  massacre,  but  had 
succumbed  to  their  wounds.  On  reaching  the  scene  of  carnage, 
the  skeletons,  no  longer  single  as  already  met  with  by  the  way- 
side, lay  in  some  places  by  the  dozen,  where  frightened  and 
wounded  men  had  huddled  together  in  the  vain  hope  of  rinding 
mercy  or  safety.  Last  time  I  passed  I  shot  a  zebra  here  ;  and 
not  far  from  the  animal,  there  lay  a  human  skull,  though  only 
a  few  now  remain  scattered  about. 

At  Campi  Mbaruk  I  came  upon  one  of  the  temporary 
settlements  of  these  nomadic  Masai.  The  huts,  seen  from  a 
distance,  resemble  the  baker's  familiar  tinloaf  of  bread.  They 
are  well  plastered  over  with  cow-dung,  almost  touch  each  other, 
and  are  arranged  in  circular  kraals  with  an  inner  free  space 
for  penning  the  young  calves.  The  vast  herds  these  humble 
nomads  own  are  a  sight  !  One  is  reminded  of  the  possessions 
of  Job,  of  Abraham,  and  of  Israel.  The  plain  was  dotted  with 
black  patches  indicating  densely  packed  herds  of  thousands  of 
head  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats,  and  hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  donkeys.  When  the  tribe  shifts  its  habitation,  the  donkeys 
carry  the  household  goods,  especially  heavy  articles  such  as 
long  poles  and  bullock-hides.  The  women  carry  the  more 
fragile  possessions,  such  as  earthenware  cooking -pots.  One 
of  the  men  I  saw,  was  evidently  an  elder  and  a  man  of 
wealth  and  authority ;   he  was  wrapped  in  a  thick  fur-coat 


THE   RAVINE  DISTRICT 


51 


made  of  monkey -skins.  His  wives  were  loaded  with  orna- 
ments of  brass,  beads,  and  iron -wire.  The  Masai  women 
disfigure  themselves  bv  hanging  heavy  chains  of  iron-wire  from 
the  upper  portion  of  the  ear,  so  that  it  is  pulled  over  the 
lower.  In  this  way  they  alter  for  the  worse,  what  might  other- 
wise have  passed  as  a  pleasing  oval  face. 

The  Masai  have  a  horrid  liking  for  drinking  the  warm 
blood,  as  it  gushes  out  of  a  slaughtered  animal,  and  for  eating 
the  congealed  lumps.    If  I  happened  to  slaughter  a  sheep  or 


AT  A  MASAI  KRAAL. 


goat,  and  any  Masai  were  near,  boys  and  girls  would  come 
with  bowls  to  catch  the  blood  and  carry  it  away  to  their 
kraal ;  their  blood-smeared  mouths  and  hands  were  a  loath- 
some sight. 

Mohammedans  in  this  respect  are  the  very  opposite,  and 
follow  the  teaching  of  the  Koran,  founded  on  the  Jewish  law, 
which  ordains  that  the  blood  shall  be  shed  on  the  earth,  and 
shall  not  be  used  in  any  form.  It  was  one  of  the  difficulties 
I  had  with  my  Mohammedan  boys  to  get  them  to  serve  me 
with  an  underdone  steak.  Their  hidden  contempt  for  it  was 
indicated  in  their  very  question  whether  I  wanted  "  bifstek-ya- 
dam  " — the  steak  with  blood  ;  and  most  probably  they  would 


52 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


then  serve  up  the  meat  practically  raw  with  the  blood  still 
oozing  out.  If  I  sent  it  back  to  the  kitchen,  it  would  re- 
appear overdone. 

The  cultivation  of  the  gourd  into  every  conceivable  shape, 
according  to  the  needs  or  the  fancy  of  the  community,  is  well 
known ;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  gourds  which  find 
greatest  favour  with  the  Masai  resemble  long- necked  bottles. 
Some  of  these  are  curiously  shaped  like  champagne  bottles. 
Gourds  are  often  ornamented  with  rows  of  cowrie  shells 
or  beads  ;  others  have  a  pattern  burnt  on  them  in  the  style 
of  poker-work. 

The  Masai  woman  is  an  expert  milkmaid,  but  she  never  uses 
both  hands  to  milk  ;  she  usually  holds  the  gourd-bottle,  which 
is  extremely  light,  in  her  left  hand  and  milks  with  the  right. 

Veterinary  surgery,  as  practised  by  them,  consists  in  bleeding. 
I  witnessed  the  operation  one  day,  when  a  gentleman,  afraid  that 
his  donkey  was  ill  beyond  all  recovery,  called  in  a  Masai  vet.,  who 
came  provided  with  a  toy  bow  and  what  looked  like  a  toy 
arrow  but  that  it  had  a  very  sharp  pointed  arrow-head.  Having 
felt  the  animal,  the  Masai  from  a  distance  of  about  eight  or 
ten  inches  shot  the  arrow  into  its  neck,  and  a  stream  of  dark 
venous  blood  at  once  flowed  out.  He  allowed  about  three  to 
four  ounces  to  escape,  and  then,  extracting  the  arrow,  the 
bleeding  stopped  almost  immediately.  The  operation  certainly 
relieved  the  donkey  at  the  time  ;  I  cannot  say  if  it  proved  of 
any  lasting  benefit,  as  I  had  to  continue  my  march  next  day. 

Along  the  line  of  the  lakes  Naivasha,  Elmenteita,  and  Nakuru, 
the  cows  which  accompany  a  caravan  produce  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year  a  milk  with  a  most  peculiar  smell  and  taste — in  fact, 
"  fishy"  is  the  nearest  resemblance.  Swahilies  do  not  mind  this 
nasty  flavour  ;  but  I  have  not  yet  met  the  European  who  likes  it. 
I  have  been  told  that  it  is  due  to  some  plant  which  the  cows 
eat  without  any  injurious  effect  on  their  health,  though  it  im- 
parts this  very  peculiar  vile  aroma  to  their  milk. 

The  first  Government  station  the  traveller  arrives  at  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate  is  Naivasha  Station.  It  is  built  on  a 
plateau  which  overlooks  the  lake.  The  locality  provides  flat 
slabs  of  stone  ;  this  made  it  comparatively  easy  to  build  up  a 
stone  wall  round  the  fort.  Trench  and  drawbridge  afford 
additional  security.  Good  building  timber  can  also  be  had, 
though  it  is  not  felled  in  the  very  immediate  neighbourhood. 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


53 


Most  travellers  who  have  been  for  some  years  up-country, 
declare  that  Lake  Naivasha  is  on  the  increase  ;  I  am  of  the 
same  opinion.  I  am  under  the  impression,  that  a  certain  copse 
of  thorn-trees  which  is  now  standing  in  the  water  marks  the 
very  spot,  where  our  caravan  camped  four  years  ago.  This, 
to  geographical  science,  interesting  information  could  be  easily 
verified  by  fixing  a  few  poles  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  record- 
ing the  date,  and  from  time  to  time,  say  every  six  months, 
observing  by  their  position  if  the  lake  has  increased,  decreased, 
or  remained  the  same.  Lake  Naivasha  has  no  visible  exit, 
and  yet  some  fairly  large  rivers,  such  as  the  Morendat  and  the 
Gilgil,  empty  themselves  into  it. 

It  is  a  sight  to  see  the  waterfowl  which  frequent  the  lake. 
On  my  first  journey,  though  we  arrived  here  one  day  and  left 
next  morning,  I  had  time  to  secure  an  interesting  mixed  bag 
of  snipe,  coot,  grebe,  wild  goose,  and  a  variety  of  different 
species  of  duck.  The  most  delicate  for  the  table  were  teal  and 
snipe.  Flamingo,  ibis,  and  a  vast  number  of  other  aquatic 
birds  thickly  cover  the  shores.  On  one  journey  I  saw  wild-geese 
feeding  on  the  adjoining  grassy  plains  by  the  thousand  ;  but 
when  they  are  present  in  such  numbers,  I  found  them  most 
difficult  to  shoot.  They  were  as  vigilant  as  the  historic  geese 
which  saved  the  Roman  Capitol.  They 
seemed  to  know  exactly  how  far  the  shot 
could  carry,  and  they  gauged  accurately 
the  distance  I  might  be  allowed  to  draw 
near,  before  they  flew  off  with  a  harsh 
noisy  scream  which  startled  and  frightened 
all  the  other  birds  near  them. 

At  the  south-east  end  of  Lake  Naivasha 
is  the  extinct  volcano  Longonot,  with  a 
huge  crater  on  its  summit. 

Lake  Elmenteita  and  Lake  Nakuru  are 
both  brackish  ;  and  though  a  good  many 
waterfowl  are  found  on  them,  the  number 
is  insignificant  compared  to  what  is  seen 
on  Lake  Naivasha.  At  Lake  Nakuru  I 
shot  a  guinea-fowl  and  an  ibis.  The  guinea-fowl  is  interesting  ; 
for  it  has  been  described  by  the  learned  ornithologist,  Mr.  E. 
Hartert,  director  of  the  Tring  Museum,  as  a  new  species.  For 
a  scientific  description  of  the  bird  vide  Appendix. 


54  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Lake  Nakuru  is  apparently  the  home  of  the  flamingoes  ;  they 
seem  to  be  always  present  in  numbers.  I  was  much  surprised 
when  I  compared  some  which  I  shot  on  my  last  journey  and 
brought  home  with  me,  with  others  which  I  had  shot  on  the 
previous  journey.  The  birds  belonged  to  two  totally  different 
species.  The  one  sort  is  a  small,  rare  bird,  with  quite  a  different 
form  of  beak  to  the  other  which  is  the  large,  common  flamingo. 
Amongst  my  specimens  there  were  some  young  and  some  old. 
In  the  young  the  iris  is  grey,  in  the  old  it  is  bright  yellow. 

Though  the  water  of  Lake  Nakuru  is  brackish,  a  fair-sized 
stream  flows  into  it.  A  number  of  fresh  water  springs  bubble 
out  of  the  soil  within  a  few  yards  of  the  lake.  There  are  a 
good  many  hippos,  but  they  are  difficult  to  shoot.  They  are 
shy,  and  have  probably  been  shot  at  by  passing  caravans. 

A  two-days'  march  from  Lake  Nakuru  takes  the  traveller 
to  the  Ravine  Station.  About  twelve  miles  from  the  station  he 
crosses  the  Equator.  Some  facetious  individual,  signing  himself 
"  Snooks,"  has  put  up  a  board  calling  the  attention  of  the  pass- 
ing caravan  to  the  fact  that  they  are  crossing  "the  line."  But 
though  the  Ravine  Station  is  practically  on  the 
a  Equator,  it  is  out  and  out  the  coldest  station  in 

w    J      the  whole  of  the  Uganda  Protectorate. 
^KKfcT  I  have  met  Wanderobo  men  near  Naivasha,  but 

■HHBf       the  first  Anderobo  woman  I  saw  at  the  Ravine  ;  she 
was  dressed  in  monkey-skins.    The  Wanderobo  are 
AjHHHP^      a  race  of  elephant-hunters.    Those  I  saw  resembled 
wLw  '  ■  W        the  Masai  in  dress  and  ornaments.    The  Eldoma 
^R^Hf         mountain  range  is  inhabited  by  a  race  called  the 
Kamasia. 

Where  caravans  used  to  cross  formerly,  the 
Ravine  has  steep  sides,  and  deep  down  at  the 
bottom  of  it  there  is  a  mountain  stream  which, 
when  swollen  by  heavy  rains,  may  become  a 
anderobo  woman,  fierce  torrent  but  in  the  dry  season  is  only  ankle- 
deep.  Formerly  caravans  lost  a  day  in  crossing 
the  Ravine.  By  the  present  caravan  route,  a  few  hundred 
yards  higher  up  the  river,  caravans  can  pass  without  any 
difficulty  whatever.  The  former  Ravine  crossing  is,  however, 
worth  a  visit.  Pretty  ferns,  amongst  them  maiden-hair,  grow 
here  in  wild  profusion. 

Mr.  James  Martin,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  Ravine  Station, 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


55 


is  a  veteran  traveller,  having  done  a  score  of  journeys,  though 
not  always  right  up  to  Kampala.  He  was  the  first  of  the 
bachelor  officials  who  got  married,  and  his  example  has  been 
followed  by  others,  from  storekeeper  to  Commissioner.  Since 
English  Mission  ladies  by  their  presence  demonstrated  that 
Uganda  suited  European  ladies,  there  has  been  quite  a  matri- 
monial epidemic. 

From  the  Ravine  the  traveller  next  passes  on  to  the  cold 
and  wind-swept  Mau  escarpment,  over  9000  feet  above  sea-level. 
Sometimes  it  is  very  cold  here.  I  have  seen  hoar-frost  on  the 
ground  and  a  thin  coating  of  ice  on  the  edge  of  shallow 
springs.  On  my  fourth  journey  it  was  so  cold  during  the  night, 
that  my  boy  in  the  early  morning  found,  to  his  astonishment, 
the  water  in  the  pail  frozen  into  a  solid  lump.  He  had  seen 
sleet,  but  never  anything  like  this.  When  he  came  to  tell 
me  that  my  matutinal  tub  was  not  ready,  I  was  only  too  glad 
of  a  legitimate  excuse  to  snuggle  down  in  the  warm  blankets 
for  a  little  longer  ;  so  I  told  him  to  put  the  pail  near,  but 
not  too  near  the  fire,  and  to  call  me  again  when  the  bath  was 
ready. 

It  was  on  the  Mau  that  I  captured  a  new  species  of  butter- 
fly, a  green  swallow-tail.  At  the  Ravine  the  orange-yellow 
swallow-tail  of  Captain  Pringle  is  quite  common  in  March,  and 
others,  equally  valuable,  are  at  certain  seasons  met  with  here  by 
the  dozen. 

The  caravan-road  across  Mau  was  recently  littered  with  dead 
and  dying  bullocks  belonging  to  the  Government  bullock-trans- 
port which  consequently  broke  down.  The  mission  doctor  at 
Kibwezi  called  this  form  of  cattle  disease  pleuro-pneumonia,  but 
the  Government  veterinary  surgeon,  whom  I  met  at  Machakos, 
said  there  could  be  no  doubt  but  that  it  was  rinderpest. 

Leaving  bleak  Mau,  the  traveller  descends  to  the  Nandi 
country,  only  opened  to  traffic  since  the  last  three  years. 
Formerly  the  inhabitants  were  fierce  and  treacherous.  A  con- 
firmation of  this  was  the  sad  tragedy  which  befell  Mr.  West, 
an  English  trader,  at  the  hands  of  the  Wanandi. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Mr.  West  alive  was  at  Mumia's.  He 
was  then  on  the  point  of  going  to  the  Nandi  country  to  buy 
ivory  in  exchange  for  cows.  I  asked  him  whether  he  was 
not  afraid  to  venture  with  such  a  small  number  of  men, 
barely  twenty  porters,  among  a  race  not  yet  brought  under 


56  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


subjection  and  reported  to  be  hostile.  He  replied  that  it 
might  be  dangerous  for  any  other  white  man  to  try,  but  not 
for  him,  as  he  had  already  once  visited  the  country,  and 
although  it  was  only  at  a  frontier  village,  that  he  had  made 
blood-brotherhood  with  a  chief.  The  porters  he  selected  were 
picked  men,  some  of  the  best  of  the  porters  with  whom  I  had, 
only  a  short  while  previously,  arrived  from  the  coast.  Little 
did  I  reckon,  when  we  shook  hands  and  said  good-bye,  that 
it  was  the  last  I  should  see  of  him,  and  that  he  was  another 
about  to  meet  with  a  violent  death. 

He  was  very  proud  of  his  little  garden  at  Mumia's.  More 
than  once  he  had  generously  supplied  my  table  with  a  dish  of 
green  vegetables,  and  his  last  words  to  me  were  that  he  had  left 
instructions  with  his  gardener  to  supply  me  out  of  his  garden 
until  he  returned.  He  told  me  that  he  hoped  to  be  back  in 
a  fortnight. 

The  next  news  wTe  heard  was  brought  by  a  few  survivors 
of  his  caravan,  covered  with  ghastly  wounds  which  I  had  to 
treat.  According  to  them,  West  was  received  with  apparent 
friendship  by  his  so-called  blood-brother.  He  then  sent  off 
some  of  his  men  to  the  surrounding  villages  to  purchase  various 
tusks  of  ivory  said  to  be  for  sale.  West  felt  so  secure,  that  he 
tied  up  all  his  rifles  inside  his  tent.  Without  any  provocation 
on  his  part,  and  simply  prompted  by  lust  of  blood  and  plunder, 
the  treacherous  natives  one  night  fell  upon  him  and  his  caravan, 
and  massacred  all  but  a  very  few.  Poor  West !  He  was  down 
with  illness  at  the  time,  and  they  thrust  their  spears  through 
the  tent  and  speared  him  where  he  lay  on  his  bed.  The  black 
woman  who  had  been  West's  faithful  and  intelligent  helpmate 
for  many  a  long  year  was  speared  by  his  side.  The  savages 
carried  off  everything,  but  the  naked  bodies  of  the  slaughtered 
were  left  to  be  devoured  by  hyaenas. 

A  curious  sequel  to  this  story  I  heard  many  months  after- 
wards. It  was  on  my  return  journey  to  the  coast.  I  was 
asked,  by  one  of  the  officials  I  met,  to  take  along  with  me  to 
the  coast  a  man  who  professed  to  have  belonged  to  the  late 
Mr.  West's  caravan  and  who  said  he  had  only  now  succeeded 
in  making  his  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  Wanandi. 

When  I  saw  the  man,  I  at  once  recognised  him  as  "  Bom- 
bom,"  one  of  my  Wanyamwezi  porters  who  had  accompanied 
West's  ill-starred  caravan.    The  man,  of  course,  knew  me  too, 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


and  was  delighted  to  see  me  again.  He  accompanied  me  to 
the  coast,  and,  as  he  was  in  rags,  for  the  sake  of  auld-lang- 
syne  I  rigged  him  out  in  a  new  cotton  cloth. 

He  related  to  me  some  curious  experiences.  West  had  sent 
him  and  two  others  to  a  certain  village  to  fetch  a  tusk  of  ivory. 
Arrived  at  the  village,  one  of  the  three  remained  in  the  hut 
assigned  to  them  by  the  natives,  whilst  the  other  two  were  told 
to  accompany  two  old  men  to  the  river.  There  the  two  natives 
looked  for  an  insignificant  drv  twig  washed  hither  and  thither  by 
the  current.  This  twig  was  a  buoy,  and  by  pulling  at  it  they 
drew  two  magniticent  tusks  of  ivory,  each  over  five  feet  in  length, 
out  of  the  river.  Bom-bom  and  his  companion  were  asked  to 
carry  the  tusks  to  the  village.  Encumbered  with  the  heavy 
load  of  ivory,  they  were  suddenly  set  upon  by  young  Wanandi 
warriors  in  full  war-paint  of  red  earth  and  grease,  who  de- 
prived them  at  once  of  their  rirles  and  then  threatened  them 
with  death.  Bom-bom  tells  me  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
two  old  men  interceding  with  the  young  warriors,  he  and  his 
Swahili  companion  would  have  been  massacred  on  the  spot. 
But  one  of  the  old  men  claimed  him  as  a  slave,  and  the  other 
claimed  the  Swahili. 

They  now  returned  to  the  village.  Here  a  pool  of  blood 
was  pointed  out,  as  the  spot  where  the  third  man  they  had 
left  at  the  village  was  killed  during  their  absence.  Near  it 
there  were  a  few  other  drops  of  blood,  said  to  be  from  a 
chicken  their  companion  was  just  killing  for  dinner,  when  the 
treacherous  murderers  stabbed  him  to  death  from  behind. 
Bom-bom  thought  he  had  a  chance  of  escaping,  when  no  one 
was  watching  ;  but  the  young  warriors  were  on  the  look-out, 
and  Bom-bom  tied  back  to  the  old  man's  hut,  where  the  mur- 
derers were  kept  with  difficulty  from  following  and  spearing 
him. 

Bom-bom  and  the  Swahili  now  resigned  themselves  to  their 
condition  of  slavery.  Thev  lived  separated,  as  their  owners 
did  not  belong  to  the  same  household.  The  old  man  who 
owned  the  Swahili  decided  one  day  to  sell  him,  and  for  this 
purpose  took  him  to  another  village  :  but  such  a  wretched  sum 
was  offered  for  the  slave,  that  no  sale  was  effected.  The 
Swahili  was  a  very  merry  fellow  who  submitted  to  his  slavery 
with  the  greatest  equanimity.  The  old  man's  daughter  hap- 
pened to  be  a  widow  with  some  children,  and  the  Swahili  slave 


58 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


so  gained  her  affections  that  she  married  him.  He  was  now 
regarded  no  longer  as  a  slave,  but  as  an  honoured  son- 
in-law. 

Bom-bom  was  not  as  lucky  as  his  companion.  He  was  of  a 
different  temperament,  and  submitted  with  a  bad  grace  to  his 
captivity  and  slavery.  Nor  did  he  at  all  take  kindly  to  being  sent 
to  cultivate  the  fields  in  company  with  women.  Nor  did  any 
native  lady  fall  in  love  with  him  and  desire  him  for  a  husband. 
In  desperation  he  determined  to  escape,  and  his  master  appar- 
ently helped  him  off  ;  but  not  knowing  the  way  out  of  the 
country,  he  nearly  died  of  hunger,  and,  after  wandering  for 
days,  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  the  village.  Here  he  was 
at  once  seized  by  the  natives  and  tied  hand  and  foot  preparatory 
to  being  butchered.  His  Swahili  friend  arrived  opportunely  on 
the  scene,  and  told  the  Wanandi  that  he  knew  an  infallible 
charm  for  preventing  a  recaptured  slave  from  ever  succeeding 
in  escaping.  He  professed  to  be  willing  to  divulge  the  secret 
on  solemn  promise  that  Bom-bom's  life  should  be  spared,  in 
order  to  test  the  efficacy  of  the  charm.  The  natives  are  very 
superstitious  and  equally  curious  to  hear  about  something 
supernatural.  The  promise  was  therefore  readily  given,  Bom- 
bom  was  set  free,  and  a  cupful  of  water  was  poured  over  his 
feet  by  the  Swahili  who  declared  this  to  be  the  magic  charm. 
Of  course  it  was  only  a  trick  ;  for  if  Bom-bom  escaped  again 
and  was  recaptured,  his  capture  would  be  attributed  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  charm.  If,  however,  Bom-bom  made  a  suc- 
cessful escape,  he  would  obviously  be  out  of  danger,  charm  or 
no  charm  ;  and  the  Swahili  was  meditating  to  effect  his  own 
escape  shortly. 

In  his  heart,  the  Swahili  yearned  for  freedom,  and  his  wife 
determined  to  help  him  and  to  accompany  him,  leaving  her 
children  in  the  meantime  in  the  care  of  the  old  grandfather. 
Owing  to  her  knowledge  of  the  country,  this  devoted  wife 
got  the  Swahili  safely  out  of  it.  Both  lived  afterwards  for  a 
while  in  a  Kavirondo  village,  and  then  the  wife  decided  to 
return  to  her  father's  village  to  fetch  her  children  to  the  new 
home  and  probably  to  bring  her  old  father  as  well. 

Bom-bom,  finding  that  the  Swahili  had  managed  to  escape, 
decided  to  make  another  effort.  He  succeeded  ;  and  this  is  how 
he  came  to  accompany  me  to  the  coast. 

Subsequently  the  Nandi  country  was  reduced  to  submission 


THE  RAVINE  DISTRICT 


59 


by  a  successful  campaign  under  Major  Cunningham,  though 
not  till  some  stubborn  fights  had  been  won  by  the  discipline 
and  bravery  of  the  Soudanese  troops.  In  one  of  these  en- 
gagements, 200  of  the  Wanandi  were  killed.  The  natives  sued 
for  peace,  Nandi  Station  was  built,  and  the  caravan  route 
was  carried  through  their  country. 

When  I  passed  that  way,  I  captured  a  number  of  new  species 
of  butterflies  and  moths  at  Patsho  and  at  Rau. 

Nandi  is  a  delightful  country,  with  densely  wooded  hills  and 
with  open  valleys  suitable  for  pasturage  and  tillage.  It  is  not 
unpleasantly  cold,  though  it  is  so  many  thousand  feet  above 
the  sea-level. 

The  Wanandi  warriors  carry  bows  and  arrows,  or  else  a  broad- 
bladed  spear,  knobkerry,  and  Masai  sword.  They  usually  offered 
to  us,  for  sale,  pots  of  honey  or  skins  of  the  black  and  white 
Colobus  monkey.  The  monstrous  big  lump  of  wood,  which  they 
carry  as  ear-ring  through  the  lower  lobe  of  the  ear,  shows  that 
the  tyranny  of  fashion  exists  also 
amongst  savages. 

The  Wanandi  women  resem- 
ble the  Masai  in  dress,  but  they 
wear  different  ear-rings.  Each 
ear-ring  is  a  flat  spiral,  about  the 
size  of  the  palm  of  the  hand,  and 
consists  of  solid  brass  wire.  It 
is  suspended  from  the  ear  by  a 
leather  loop.  The  two  heavy  ear- 
rings usually  rest  on  the  chest, 
and  are  fastened  together  by 
a  connecting  strip  of  leather. 
The  lower  lobe  of  the  ear  is 
dragged  down  by  the  weight 
of  brass,  till  in  course  of  time  kwavi. 
it  nearly  touches  the  shoulder. 
From  Kavirondo  as  far  as  Nandi  Station  I  was  accompanied 
by  Wakwavi,  placed  in  charge  of  some  heads  of  Government 
cattle.  These  WTakwavi  belong  to  a  branch  of  the  great  Masai 
race,  and  resemble  them  in  dress,  weapons,  and  ornaments. 
They  live  scattered  among  the  Wakavirondo.  We  had  some 
heavy  showers  of  rain,  and  these  men  came  and  crouched  under 
the  awning  of  my  tent.     My  boys  wanted  to  drive  them  off,  but 


KWAVI. 


6o 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  refuse  them  shelter,  as  long  as 
it  rained.  I  was  glad,  however,  to  get  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  the 
rain  stopped  ;  the  natural  scent  of  their  own  skin,  blended  with 
the  odour  of  rancid  grease  and  the  fragrance  of  unwashed 
clothes,  combined  to  form  a  bouquet  which  no  European  nostril 
could  endure  for  any  length  of  time. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


KAVIRONDO. 

SCANTY  dress  may  naturally  be  expected 
amongst  savages  of  a  low  type  and  living 
in  a  tropical  climate,  but  to  find  one- 
self among  a  race  absolutely  naked  is  a 
strange  experience  ;  and  yet  within  a  few  weeks 
or  months  the  novelty  wears  off,  and  one  fails 
to  notice  anything  extraordinary  in  such  a  mode 
of  life.  The  inhabitants  of  Kavirondo  recall  the 
state  of  mankind  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  before 
the  Fall.  Banana-trees  and  other  tropical  vege- 
tation around  the  huts,  at  least  in  some  parts 
of  their  country,  would  strengthen  this  impres- 
a  kavirondo  minstrel,  sion  of  being  in  a  garden,  were  it  not  for  the 
treeless  grass-plains  outside  the  village.  Young 
and  old  go  about  in  the  same  primeval  garb.  Women  often 
wear  a  curious  ornament,  in  the  shape  of  a  tail,  which  consists 
of  a  number  of  plaited  strings  manufactured  out  of  some  sort 
of  vegetable  fibre.  A  tiny  apron  of  the  same  material  is  worn 
by  a  few  of  the  women.  As  it  is  never  worn  by  the  un- 
married, I  was  told  that  its  presence  was  the  equivalent  for  the 
European  wedding-ring  ;  but  I  am  sure  this  is  incorrect,  as  I 
have  come  across  numbers  of  young  mothers  and  wives  without 
this  apron,  and  have  seen  widows  with  and  without  it.  I  believe 
it  is  simply  a  fashion,  like  the  tail,  without  any  other  object. 

The  race  is  well  formed  and  healthy.  They  are  agricultur- 
ists; wherever  they  settle,  the  jungle  around  them  is  soon  con- 
verted into  fruitful  fields,  yielding  sweet-potatoes  or  various 
forms  of  corn.  Those  who  can  afford  it  keep  goats  and  sheep, 
and  the  wealthy  have  herds  of  cattle.  One  of  the  chiefs,  I  was 
assured,  owned  several  thousand  cows.    The  native  weapon  is 


62  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  spear,  a  short  iron  blade  on  a  long  wooden  staff,  usually 
tipped  with  iron  at  the  other  end  to  stick  into  the  ground, 
when  at  rest.  The  shields  are  very  curious.  The  leaf-shaped 
wicker-shield  is  evidently  old-fashioned.  The  more  common 
form  is  the  small  oval  leathern  shield  of  bullock-hide  ;  it  has 
a  raised  bump  or  boss  punched  in  the  centre. 

The  women  wear  a  few  strings  of  beads,  but  the  men  are 
inordinately  fond  of  ornaments,  especially  the  young  warrior 
dandies.  Iron-wire  twisted  into  a  spiral  coil  round  the  neck 
as  a  sort  of  collar,  or  round  the  leg  as  an  anklet,  is  the 
height  of  fashion.  Those  who  are  lucky  enough  to  secure  a 
piece  of  ivory  wear  it,  if  from  the  tusk  of  a  hippo,  as  a  crescent- 
shaped  ornament  fastened  to  the  forehead,  but  if  of  elephant 
ivory,  then  either  as  a  bracelet  or  an  anklet.  In  the  last  few 
years  cowrie  shells  have  come  into  favour,  and  are  worn  strapped 
round  the  chest  or  dangling  from  the  shoulders. 

Pink  beads  are  the  accepted  currency,  but  even  this  de- 
pends on  fashion.  With  the  smaller  pink  beads  we  used  to 
be  able,  on  my  first  journey,  to  buy  food  for  the  caravan. 
These  beads  are  everywhere  refused  nowadays,  and  the  tra- 
veller would  not  be  able  to  buy  a  stick  of  firewood  or  a  single 
sweet-potato  with  them.  The  beads  now  in  vogue  are  about 
four  times  as  large  as  the  former  sort. 

The  Kavirondo  hut  consists  of  a  circular  mud  wall  of  wattle 
and  daub,  with  a  conical  grass-thatched  roof ;  and  a  narrow  outer 
verandah  encircles  the  dwelling.  The  entrance  is  very  low,  and 
is  closed  at  night  by  a  reed-screen,  movable  between  vertical 
posts,  and  securely  fastened  by  a  horizontal  bar.  The  interior 
of  the  hut  is  very  dark.  The  hut  not  only  shelters  the  whole 
family,  but  the  poultry,  goats,  and  sheep,  and  occasionally  a  cow 
as  well.  There  is  no  ventilation  of  any  sort.  One  would  imagine 
a  dreadful  state  of  ill-health  from  these,  to  Europeans,  insanitary 
conditions  ;  as  a  fact,  the  natives  are  most  healthy,  except  for 
such  diseases  as  have  been  imported  by  passing  caravans. 

Owing  to  the  destruction  caused  by  annually  recurring  grass- 
fires  for  generations  past,  the  want  of  wood  is  becoming  yearly 
more  acutely  felt  by  the  traveller.  The  natives  can  manage  to 
cook  their  food  by  using  the  dried  stems  of  Kaffre-corn  or 
maize  or  elephant-grass,  but  the  firewood  for  a  camp  has  to  be 
fetched  from  a  considerable  distance,  and  the  traveller  has  to 
pay  accordingly. 


KAVIRONDO 


63 


The  natives  are  remarkably  stingy  and  inhospitable,  and  in 
this  respect  contrast  unfavourably  with  other  native  races. 
Even  though  their  village  food-stores  may  contain  more  than 
the  population  can  possibly  require,  and  their  fields  may  be 
covered  with  luxuriant  crops,  they  will  refuse  food  to  a  starv- 
ing caravan,  and  severely  punish,  and  probably  kill,  any  one 
driven  by  hunger  to  help  himself  to  a  little  from  the  vast  wealth 
of  their  fields.  They  not  only  insist  on  payment  for  everything, 
but  will  refuse  to  sell  anything  except  for  the  sort  of  bead  that 
happens  to  be  in  fashion  with  them  at  the  moment.  I  was 
stationed  at  Mumia's,  the  first  Government  station  in  Kavirondo, 
for  some  months,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
grasping  greed  of  the  natives.  It  happened  that  the  only  beads 
the  Government  possessed  were  white,  red,  or  blue  ;  the  pink 
ones  were  exhausted.  The  Soudanese  garrison  and  the  Swa- 
hili  porters  were  paid  their  food-ration  with  these  beads  ;  and 
yet  the  villagers  not  only  refused  to  accept  the  Government 
currency,  but  endeavoured  to  extort  famine  prices  from  the 
unfortunate  Government  servants.  More  than  once  a  native 
would  appear  at  the  station  and  complain,  that  a  Soudanese 
soldier  had  snatched  a  basket  of  potatoes  or  flour  and  had 
chucked  him  some  strings  of  white  beads,  the  owner  having 
refused  to  accept  any  but  pink.  As  the  Kavirondo  have  not 
been  conquered,  but  have  come  peacefully  under  British  sway, 
they  consequently  look  upon  the  Government  stations  as  tole- 
rated, and  not  as  the  strongholds  of  the  new  and  powerful 
masters  of  their  country.  Hence  difficulties  may  sometimes 
cause  strained  relations.  In  most  cases  a  judicious  treatment 
of  the  native  chief  or  chiefs  settles  the  hitch  amicably. 

The  chiefs  are  generally  friendly  disposed,  will  call  on  the 
traveller,  and  bring  him  a  present.  The  Kavirondo  chief 
Ngira  presented  me  with  a  black  fat-tailed  sheep,  when  I  passed 
through  his  country  on  my  last  journey.  Neither  he  nor  his 
chief  attendants  were  naked,  owing  to  the  influence  of  Euro- 
peans having  passed  frequently  with  their  caravans  of  clothed 
porters.  In  fact,  all  along  the  caravan  route  I  noticed,  especially 
among  the  male  population,  that  a  good  many  were  adopting 
some  form  of  covering,  apparently  in  deference  to  the  clothed 
strangers  that  visit  them.  This  covering  consists  of  a  piece  of 
goatskin  or  cotton  cloth.  Formerly,  every  man  one  met  carried 
a  spear,  but  the  peaceful  British  rule  has  had  the  visible  effect 


64 


UNDER  THE   AFRICAN  SUN 


of  causing  villagers  to  attend  markets  without  a  spear.  Very 
often  they  are  armed  simply  with  a  small  club  which,  if  long 
enough,  serves  also  as  a  walking-stick. 

The  native  bill-hook  is  quite  different  in  shape  to  the  one  used 
in  Uganda.  It  is  used  to  cut  down  jungle,  rank  weeds,  and 
shrubs,  as  a  preliminary  clearing  of  the  field  ;  the  women 
afterwards  turn  over  the  soil  with  native  hoes  of  the  usual 
pointed  heart-shape.  I  have  seen  men  working  in  the  fields 
as  diligently  as  women.    Small  boys  usually  serve  as  goatherds, 


THE  KAVIROXDO  CHIEF  NGIRA. 


shepherds,  and  cowherds.  Small  girls,  even  from  the  earliest 
vears,  assist  their  mothers,  fetch  water,  look  after  the  fire,  pre- 
pare the  food,  grind  corn,  and  help  in  the  fields. 

The  Kavirondo  natives  have  no  supreme  king  over  them,  but 
are  under  small  independent  chiefs.  Very  often  the  village 
elders  manage  their  own  affairs  without  rendering  obedience  to 
any  one.  According  to  different  districts,  the  natives,  though  of 
one  race  and  one  language,  call  themselves  by  different  names, 
such  as  Wakitosh  and  Wakilelowa. 

In  1894  a  sad  reverse  attended  British  influence  among  the 
neighbouring  Wakitosh.  Some  Swahilies  had  deserted  to  a 
certain  Wakitosh  village,  and  the  force  sent  to  demand  their 


KAVIRONDO 


65 


surrender  proved  inadequate.  It  is  difficult  to  know  for  certain 
the  details  of  the  disaster,  or  who  were  the  parties  really  respon- 
sible for  the  bloodshed,  whether  the  fault  lay  with  our  men  or 
with  the  natives.  Most  of  the  men  that  were  sent  never  returned  ; 
they  were  massacred  by  the  Wakitosh,  and  the  whole  of  Kitosh 
became  insecure. 

A  number  of  new  officials  just  then  arrived  opportunely  from 
the  coast ;  and  one  of  these,  a  first-class  transport  officer,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  district.  He  had  to  wait  some  time 
before  the  Government  was  able  to  send  a  sufficiently  strong 
force  to  assert  British  authority  effectively  over  the  Wakitosh. 
The  expedition  was  commanded  by  Mr.  W.  Grant,  and  accom- 
panied by  a  military  officer,  the  civil  officer  of  the  district,  and 
myself  as  the  medical  officer.  It  consisted  of  only  a  few  hun- 
dred Soudanese  soldiers,  but  there  were  several  thousand  armed 
native  allies,  consisting  of  Waganda,  Wasoga,  Masai,  and  friendly 
Wakavirondo,  quite  willing,  in  anticipation  of  loot,  to  join  in 
arms  against  their  own  kindred. 

The  Kavirondo  live  in  villages  most  of  which  are  fortified. 
The  village  is  circular,  and  defended  by  a  high  wall  of  earth  ; 
a  deep  trench  surrounds  the  wall.  There  are  at  least  two 
entrances,  and  if  the  village  is  large  there  may  be  five  or  six. 
When  the  village  owns  a  considerable  number  of  cattle,  an  open 
space  is  left  in  the  centre  with  sheds  for  housing  it.  The  huts 
are  arranged  close  along  the  wall,  with  their  doors  opening 
towards  the  central  space  of  the  village.  WThere  the  popula- 
tion is  particularly  dense,  there  are  a  great  many  other  huts 
crowding  the  inner  space.  These  are  fenced  off  from  each 
other  in  such  an  intricate  manner,  that  a  stranger  would  not 
find  it  easy  to  pass  from  one  hut  to  another.  Every  hut  has 
one  or  more  outdoor  corn-stores  of  the  usual  pattern,  viz.,  a 
big  basket  on  trestles  with  a  conical  grass-thatched  cover. 

The  massacre  by  the  Wakitosh,  followed  by  the  disaster  which 
overtook  Mr.  West  in  Nandi,  had  also  rendered  the  natives  of 
Kabras  hostile.  A  message  reached  us  at  Mumia's  that  the 
natives,  having  found  out  that  white  men  were  mortal  (Mr. 
West  was  speared  and  killed  in  a  treacherous  night-attack),  had 
determined  to  prevent  in  future  any  white  man  from  passing 
through  their  country.  It  shows  what  curious  notions  some  of 
these  savages  had  hitherto  held  with  regard  to  white  men. 

The  whole  district  now  became  insecure,  and  the  Europeans 

E 


66 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


up-country  were  threatened  with  being  cut  off  from  all  com- 
munication with  the  coast.  This  sufficiently  explains  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  the  punitive  expedition,  unless  the  Government 
were  prepared  to  abandon  all  the  Europeans  up-country  and 
to  surrender  the  country  to  the  tender  mercies  of  bloodthirsty 
savages. 

The  entrance  to  a  fortified  village  is  by  means  of  a  narrow 
bank  of  earth  across  the  trench,  and  a  low  archway  in  the 
earth-wall.  One  has  to  stoop  to  pass  through  such  a  gate. 
This  entrance  can  be  easily  barricaded  with  heavy  logs  of 
wood,  and  rendered  practically  impregnable  against  all  native 
attack.  A  very  common  sight  on  approaching  a  Kavirondo 
village  is  the  appearance  of  a  number  of  inquisitive  natives 
popping  their  heads  above  the  wall  or  squatting  on  it.  The 
rank  weeds  often  hide  the  trench,  and  the  incautious  visitor 
may  fall  headlong  into  a  treacherous  pit. 

When  the  expedition  approached  the  first  hostile  village, 
we  saw  numbers  of  armed  natives  waiting  outside  their  gates 
as  if  to  give  us  battle  ;  but  as  we  drew  nearer,  they  retired 
within  their  walls  and  barricaded  the  gates.  The  enemy  had 
a  few  men  armed  with  muzzle-loaders.  When  the  fight  began, 
one  of  our  Waganda  friendlies  near  me  had  his  arm  shattered 
by  a  bullet.  I  amputated  it  there  and  then  on  the  open  field. 
But  when  the  bullets  continued  whizzing  and  singing  un- 
pleasantly near  me,  I  removed  the  wounded  behind  the  shelter 
of  a  white-ant  hillock  and  there  attended  to  them.  Then  I 
was  called  in  a  hurry  to  see  a  Swahili  shot  down  a  little  dis- 
tance off  ;  on  examining  him,  I  found  he  was  dead.  A  bullet 
had  struck  him  full  in  the  chest,  and  must  have  passed  through 
the  heart. 

The  reason  why  the  Kavirondo  have  several  entrances  to 
their  villages,  appears  to  be  to  enable  them  to  escape  by  one 
if  overpowered  at  any  of  the  others.  This  happened  in  the 
present  case.  Several  natives  burst  out  from  a  gate  the  exis- 
tence of  which  was  unsuspected.  They  escaped,  though,  of 
course,  there  was  an  immediate  rush  by  our  men  towards  the 
spot.  Strict  orders  had  been  given  to  spare  women  and 
children  ;  a  few  of  the  women  and  children  however  perished. 
This  might  happen,  and  probably  does  happen,  at  the  siege 
and  capture  of  every  fortified  place.  There  were  a  great 
many  wounded,  and  I  had  a  busy  time  of  it.     The  village 


KAVIRONDO 


67 


was  plundered  and  burnt.  There  was  very  little  for  our 
savage  allies  to  loot — a  few  shields  and  spears,  and  some 
Kavirondo  drums,  harps,  and  stools. 

The  Kavirondo  minstrel  with  his  harp  and  stool  may  be  met 
with  in  almost  every  village.  The  stool  is  carved  out  of  a  solid 
block  of  wood  ;  it  has  four  legs  and  a  cup-shaped  seat.  It  is 
very  strong,  and  can  stand  a  deal  of  hard  wear  and  tear.  It 
is  whittled  smooth  with  a  knife,  and  then  polished  with  the 
rough  leaves  of  a  certain  plant  used  instead  of  sand-paper. 

The  Kavirondo  harp  consists  of  an  oblong  wooden  bowl 
covered  with  a  piece  of  leather.  Two  pieces  of  wood,  slightly 
diverging  from  each  other,  are  fixed  inside  the  bowl ;  a  hori- 
zontal piece  fastens  them  to  each  other,  and  serves  as  a  support 
for  the  eight  coils  of  string  which  converge  and  meet,  where 
they  pass  through  a  hole  in  the  leather  covering  of  the  bowl. 
The  sound-aperture  is  placed  somewhat  to  the  right.  The 
minstrel  holds  the  harp  to  his  chest  with  one  hand,  and  plays 
with  the  other.  The  strings  are  not  made  of  gut,  but  of  some 
vegetable  fibre. 

In  the  pillaging  which  followed  the  capture  of  a  village 
some  accidents  happened  on  our  side.  One  poor  boy  was 
brought  to  me  cut  all  over.  The  gashes  were  inflicted  with  a 
spear.  One  of  our  savage  allies  had  mistaken  him  for  an 
enemy  and  had  tried  to  kill  him.  The  boy  had  one  of  his 
thumbs  nearly  cut  off,  a  spear  thrust  through  the  leg,  the  cheek 
laid  open,  gashes  on  the  scalp,  and  cuts  on  the  arm.  He  sur- 
vived these  dreadful  injuries,  but  was  horribly  disfigured  and 
maimed  for  life. 

At  the  next  village  stormed,  a  desperate  resistance  was 
offered  by  the  enemy.  I  wore  a  conspicuous  solar-helmet,  and 
from  a  loophole  in  the  wall  one  of  the  enemy  took  me  as  a 
target  for  pot-shots.  A  bullet  at  last  whipped  past  unpleasantly 
near  my  face.  It  missed  ;  and  although  a  miss  is  as  good  as 
a  mile,  I  raised  my  rifle  in  self-defence  and  gave  a  return- 
greeting.  Whether  I  hit  or  missed  I  do  not  know,  nor  did  I 
care  to  investigate  subsequently,  but  I  was  not  molested  any 
further  from  that  quarter.  Finding  the  rifles  did  not  inflict  any 
material  damage  on  an  enemy  crouching  behind  the  protection 
of  the  earth-wall,  our  leader  tried  the  Hotchkiss  gun  ;  but  the 
missiles  simply  passed  clean  through  without  shattering  the 
earthen  rampart.    He  then  brought  the  Maxim  gun  into  posi- 


68  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


tion.  Handling  the  weapon  himself,  he  cut  down  the  upper 
half  of  the  wall  near  one  entrance.  Then  the  signal  was  given 
to  storm  the  place.  I  was  close  to  the  gate  ;  a  number  of  our 
men  had  already  entered  and  scattered  to  the  right  and  left 
along  the  inner  wall,  when  suddenly  the  enemy  made  a  desperate 
but  vain  attempt  at  a  sortie.  A  Soudanese  officer  standing  by 
my  side  was  struck  by  a  spear,  and  fell  headlong  into  the  trench. 


a  blacksmith's  paraphernalia  in  kavirondo. 


I  saw  the  blood  gushing  from  his  back  and  staining  his  tunic. 
I  thought  he  must  be  dead,  but  the  wounded  man  turned  over 
and  rested  his  head  on  his  right  hand.  He  never  uttered  a 
groan.  With  the  assistance  of  two  of  our  men,  I  had  him 
hoisted  out  and  carried  to  a  place  200  yards  off.  But  as  the 
vertebral  column  and  the  intestines  were  cut  through,  he  died 
within  a  few  minutes.  In  the  meantime  some  other  wounded 
were  brought  to  me,  and  I  was  kept  pretty  busy.  The  village 
was  captured,  pillaged,  and  burnt.  The  most  important  booty 
was  cattle,  but  there  were  other  valuables  in  the  shape  of  iron- 
wire  ornaments  and  native  hoes. 


KAVIRONDO 


69 


The  most  important  manufacture  in  Kavirondo  is  the  smelt- 
ing of  iron  ore  and  the  fashioning  of  hoes.  The  illustration 
shows  a  native  blacksmith's  extremely  simple  paraphernalia.  In 
a  large  basket  he  has  charcoal,  and  in  a  smaller  basket  the  red 
iron  ore  broken  into  very  tiny  pieces.  His  hammer  is  simply 
a  heavy  stone,  the  tongs  a  green  twig  split  half  way  down. 
The  bellows  is  double-muzzled  and  covered  with  two  goat- 
skins which  have  each  a  long  stick  attached.  The  man  who 
works  the  bellows  stands,  and  holding  these  two  sticks,  he 
works  them  up  and  down.  The  two  hands  by  thus  working 
alternately  produce  a  continuous  draught.  The  bellows  is  of 
wood,  and  the  draught  is  driven  into  a  roughly  fashioned  clay 
pipe,  and  thus  conveyed  to  the  fire.  The  clay  pipe  is  in 
sections,  roughly  held  together  with  wet  clav.  The  construc- 
tion of  the  bellows  is  somewhat  peculiar.  It  is  carved  out  of  a 
solid  block  of  wood,  and  consists  of  two  separate  basin-shaped 
depressions,  each  having  its  own  passage  tunnelled  to  the  other 
end  of  the  block.  The  piece  of  goatskin  which  covers  each 
basin  must  be  sufficiently  large  to  be  pulled  up  and  pushed 
down  ;  this  movement  draws  in  and  expels  the  air.  Wooden 
shields  are  old-fashioned  and  so  heavy  that  the  man  who  carries 
one  has  not  much  chance  of  using  a  spear  or  any  other  offensive 
weapon,  his  whole  strength  being  required  to  support  the  shield. 
Several  of  the  war-helmets  1  saw,  were  really  wicker-baskets, 
kept  on  the  head  by  a  leather  strap  which  passes  under  the 
chin.  They  are  often  ornamented  with  circles,  painted  on  with 
red  and  white  clay. 

Our  leader  kept  a  sharp  look-out  that  the  captured  women 
and  children  were  not  carried  off  as  slaves,  but  were  handed 
over  to  his  care.  Amongst  primitive  tribes,  war  is  simply  a 
repetition  of  what  one  reads  of  in  the  Old  Testament — every 
adult  male  is  put  to  death,  the  women  and  children  are  captured 
and  become  slaves.  Native  women  are  often  very  callous,  and 
readily  accept  as  husband  the  murderer  of  their  male  relatives. 
Centuries  of  bloodshed,  indiscriminate  slaughter,  and  slave- 
raiding  amongst  themselves,  have  gradually  blunted  nobler 
feelings,  and  reduced  these  human  beings  to  the  level  of 
beasts.  The  children,  having  lost  their  father,  and  being  sepa- 
rated probably  also  from  their  mother,  soon  forget  their 
origin,  and  grow  up  as  the  children  of  the  tribe  into  which  they 
have  been  adopted.    Xo  doubt  a  good  many  of  the  captured 


7° 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


women  and  children  went  off  with  their  captors,  in  spite  of 
the  strict  watch  kept  by  our  leader.  I  liberated  myself  not  a 
few,  which  I  happened  to  see  as  they  were  being  carried  off. 
It  was  not  always  easy  to  persuade  the  captive  woman  to  leave 
her  native  captor  ;  she  naturally  imagined  that  the  white  man 
wanted  to  seize  her  as  his  slave.  She  evidently  thought,  that 
under  the  circumstances  the  black  warrior  who  had  captured 
her  had  a  better  right  to  possess  her. 


KAVIRONDO  IiELLOWS,  WOODEN  SHIELD,  AND  WAR- HELMET. 

It  was  at  the  capture  of  a  village  that  I  witnessed  the 
cruel  lust  of  blood,  which  is  said  to  exist  in  every  Masai.  Two 
little  urchins,  four  or  five  years  old,  attempted  to  escape  from 
one  of  the  gates  ;  but  finding  the  enemy  present  everywhere, 
they  ran  round  the  village  along  by  the  trench,  trying  to  find 
a  means  of  re-entry.  In  the  meanwhile,  two  of  our  Masai  allies 
had  rushed  forward  from  the  besieging  hordes. 

A  Masai  on  the  war-path  is  a  horrid  object.  He  is  usually 
naked.  Round  his  waist  he  wears  a  broad  leather  belt  carrying 
a  long  sword  in  a  leather  scabbard.  Very  often  he  has  also  a 
knobkerry,  usually  of  some  hard  wood,  but  I  have  one  in  my 


KAVIRONDO  71 

possession  carved  out  of  a  rhino-horn.  In  his  left  hand  he 
carries  a  large  oval  shield,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  spear.  To 
one  or  both  of  his  ankles  he  ties  a  peculiar  ornament  made  of 
feathers,  and  on  his  head  he  wears  a  similar  arrangement  of 
black  ostrich  feathers  fastened  to  a  leathern  band  which  passes 
round  the  forehead  and  occiput.  The  Masai  sword  has  a 
straight  leather-covered  hilt.  The  blade  is  narrow,  but  gradu- 
ally gets  broader  towards  the  end,  where  it  suddenly  terminates 
in  a  point.  The  weapon  answers  its  purpose  of  slashing  rather 
than  of  piercing  an  enemy.  The  shields  are  made  of  bullock- 
hide,  and  are  ornamented  with  various  patterns  in  white,  red, 
and  black.  The  spear  is  very  handsome,  though  somewhat 
peculiar.  The  long  double-edged  blade  is  rather  narrow,  and 
tapers  to  a  point.  To  poise  this  unwieldy  mass  of  metal,  the 
wooden  shaft  is  almost  entirely  covered  with  iron  ;  only  a  few 
inches  of  the  wood  are  left  uncovered  about  the  middle,  where 
the  hand  grasps  the  spear. 

Two  of  these  fierce  warriors  had  darted  in  pursuit  of  the 
two  naked  urchins  who,  turning  round  and  rinding  them- 
selves hard  pressed,  stopped  running  and  held  out  entreating 
hands  to  their  pursuers.  The  Masai  were  jerking  their  spears 
horizontally,  with  the  peculiar  thrusting  movement  used  in 
striking  a  victim.  Friends  and  foes  stopped  fighting  to  watch 
this  sudden  side-act,  as  Trojans  and  Greeks  may  have  paused 
to  watch  Achilles  pursuing  Hector  round  the  walls  of  Troy. 
One  of  the  Masai  did  not  strike  his  captive,  but,  passing  shield 
and  spear  to  one  hand,  he  grasped  the  little  boy  with  the 
other,  hoisted  him  on  to  his  shoulder,  and  darted  back  to  our 
ranks  amidst  the  loud  laughter  of  our  savage  allies.  But  the 
other  villain  poised  his  spear  and  struck  the  poor  trembling 
child  full  in  the  chest.  As  the  boy  fell  backwards  in  the  grass, 
the  Masai  gave  one  more  lunge  with  his  spear  and  then  darted 
back  to  where  our  friendlies  stood  ;  and  the  battle  instantly 
raged  with  greater  fury  than  before.  It  all  happened  within 
a  few  seconds,  and  so  quickly,  that  I  had  no  time  to  put  a  bullet 
through  the  murderer,  though  an  intense  desire  to  do  so  now 
possessed  me. 

I  had  already  noticed  some  barbarities  perpetrated  on  dead 
bodies  at  the  first  village  we  captured,  for  the  human  wolves 
which  accompany  every  army  had  cut  off  a  hand  here  and 
there,  in  order  more  quickly  to  possess  themselves  of  the 


72 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


coveted  iron  bracelets.  It  was  a  barefaced  murder  this  slaying 
of  the  little  urchin  in  the  sight  of  friend  and  foe.  Of  course  it 
was  impossible  to  discover  afterwards  the  villain  among  the 
many  thousands  who  flocked  like  vultures  to  the  slaughter. 
In  the  relentless  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  these  savage  allies 
rendered  considerable  assistance  to  the  Government.  Among 
the  slain  in  the  stronghold  were  found  the  principal  hostile 
leaders ;  and  the  enemy  thereafter  no  longer  made  a  stand. 
As  we  advanced,  they  evacuated  their  villages  and  fled 
before  us. 

The  Kavirondo  are  very  clever  at  trapping  quails  ;  and  as 
they  are  also  skilful  in  basket-work,  each  quail  is  housed  in  a 
tiny  basket-cage.  A  number  of  these  baskets  are  suspended 
from  a  strong  pole  firmly  planted  in  the  ground,  and  the  call 
of  the  captured  birds  lures  others  to  the  traps  set  for  them.  In 
some  of  the  more  remote  villages  the  natives  are  quite  proud 
of  their  captured  quails  and  will  not  sell  even  a  single  one  at 
any  price  ;  but  nearer  the  caravan  route  quails  can  be  bought, 
though  usually  rather  dear. 

In  the  Wakitosh  expedition  the  Government  captured  many 
hundred  head  of  cattle.  Half  of  what  our  allies  laid  hands 
on  they  were  allowed  to  retain,  but  the  other  half  they  had, 
according  to  agreement,  to  hand  over  to  the  Government. 

Though  the  enemy  had  comparatively  few  killed,  the  loss 
they  suffered  was  a  severe  punishment  to  them  ;  villages  were 
burnt  to  the  ground,  a  serious  matter  in  a  district  where  wood 
for  rebuilding  the  huts  had  to  be  fetched  from  a  considerable 
distance  ;  standing  crops  were  destroyed  :  vast  stores  of  corn 
found  in  the  villages  were  used  up  by  the  invading  army  ;  and 
cattle,  their  most  valuable  possession,  were  captured  by  the 
hundred. 

I  was  present  when  a  tusk  of  ivory  was  picked  up  with  a 
bunch  of  leaves  attached  to  it.  It  was  the  equivalent  of  the 
white  flag  amongst  European  combatants,  a  signal  of  submis- 
sion ;  and  our  victorious  leader  now  withdrew  the  invading 
forces  from  the  district.  Some  of  the  captured  women  were 
then  liberated,  provided  with  food,  and  sent  back  to  their  homes. 
They  were  to  convey,  on  behalf  of  the  Government,  assurances 
to  the  enemy  that  all  the  captives,  women  and  children,  would 
be  liberated  as  soon  as  peace  was  established,  and  that  the 
Government  had  no  intention  of  keeping  slaves.    This  must 


KAVIRONDO 


73 


have  appeared  an  astounding  generosity  to  natives  accustomed 
to  consider  captives  as  slaves. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  hostile  chief  arrived  in  person  at 
Mumia's  and  offered,  in  sign  of  submission,  to  settle  with 
his  tribe  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Government 
station.  This  of  course  could  not  be  granted,  and  he  returned 
to  his  own  home,  but  with  all  the  liberated  captives,  women 


NATIVE  BRIDGE  OVER  THE  SIO  RIVER  IN  KAVIRONDO. 


and  children.  Some  months  later  the  civil  officer  in  charge  of 
the  district  made  an  inspection  tour  in  Kitosh.  It  was  a  royal 
tour,  for  the  conquered  natives  saw  in  him  the  autocrat  wielding 
supreme  authority  in  the  country.  It  will  take  a  long  while 
before  they  come  to  know  that  there  is  a  higher  authority  in  the 
Protectorate,  viz.,  the  Commissioner,  who,  in  his  turn,  is  but 
the  servant  of  the  sovereign  authority  in  the  distant  land  which 
is  the  home  of  the  white  man. 

Pursuit  becomes  extremely  difficult,  if  the  enemy  crosses 
rivers  and  destroys  the  native  bridges.  The  difference  in  depth 
of  some  rivers  in  the  dry  season  and  in  a  state  of  flood,  owing  to 


74 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


incessant  rains,  may  be  gauged  by  the  huge  and  heavy  scaffold- 
ing of  the  native  bridge  over  the  Sio  river  in  Kavirondo.  In 
the  dry  season  it  was  possible  to  cross  this  river  by  wading 
through  it. 

The  Wakitosh  expedition  was  followed  by  one  against  the 
Wakilelowa.  In  discussing  the  plans  with  chief  Mumia,  our 
friendly  Kavirondo  ally,  Mr.  Grant  made  some  allusion  to 
probable  difficulties  if  the  recent  heavy  rains  were  to  continue. 
Mumia  pointed  to  me  and  said  :  "  You  have  got  the  white 
medicine-man ;  why  don't  you  ask  him  to  give  you  fine 
weather?"  We  explained  that  this  sort  of  thing  was  beyond 
the  province  of  all  white  men,  whether  medicine-man  or  not. 
Whereupon  Mumia  quietly  remarked  to  him,  that  if  we  could 
not  do  it,  his  own  medicine-man  could  and  would  do  it  at 
once,  provided  he  were  paid.  On  being  asked  how  much,  he 
said  :  "one  cow."  Half  in  fun  he  was  told  that  white  men  do 
not  pay,  till  they  have  had  proof  of  such  pretensions  ;  but  he 
accepted  this  as  a  verbal  agreement,  and  said  :  "  All  right  ! 
my  medicine-man  shall  see  that  you  have  fine  weather." 
Next  morning  our  expedition  started,  and  by  an  absurd  coinci- 
dence we  did  not  have  a  drop  of  rain,  though  it  had  been 
raining  almost  daily  up  till  then.  We  had  some  lovely  days. 
Of  course  Mumia  was  satisfied  that  his  wizard  had  performed 
the  trifling  feat  of  securing  for  us  fine  weather  ;  and  our 
leader  had  naturally  to  hand  over  the  cow,  as  non-payment 
would  have  been  considered  as  breaking  a  white  man's  word. 
Where  the  European  villain  with  his  lies  and  frauds  has  not 
yet  made  his  appearance,  the  white  man's  simple  word  is  equal 
to  a  solemn  and  binding  oath. 

It  must  not  be  thought,  that  the  native  medicine-man  has 
always  a  pleasant  time  of  it.  I  inquired  of  Mumia,  how  long 
his  medicine-man  had  been  with  him,  and  was  told  that  not 
many  years  ago  this  medicine-man's  predecessor  was  put  to 
death  on  account  of  his  obstinacy  in  refusing  to  provide  rain, 
when  the  whole  nation  was  suffering  from  a  severe  drought. 
The  position  of  the  African  medicine -man,  though  highly 
honourable  and  lucrative,  is  therefore  somewhat  precarious. 

The  Wakilelowa  were,  speedily  defeated,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Kabras  sued  for  peace  and  entered  into  blood-brotherhood 
with  the  civilian  in  charge  of  the  district.  This  rite  consisted 
in  cutting  the  throat  of  a  dog,  the  two  contracting  parties 


KAVIRONDO 


75 


promising  over  the  immolated  dog  to  be  true  friends  in  future, 
and  declaring  that  they  deserved  to  be  treated  as  the  dead 
dog  if  false  to  each  other.  Such  faith  these  natives  had  in  the 
efficacy  of  this  rite,  that  they  at  once  flocked  in  trustingly  from 
every  quarter  to  our  camp,  and  a  brisk  market  was  opened  as  if 
such  a  thing  as  war  had  never  existed. 

Both  in  the  Wakitosh  and  in  the  Wakilelowa  expedition  I 
saw  a  good  many  cases  of  wounds  inflicted  by  arrows.  The 
bow  was  a  rather  poor  weapon,  the  arrows  were  of  every 
description.  I  have  in  my  collection  some  specimens,  brought 
from  the  scenes  of  the  earlier  rights.  A  few  of  these  arrows 
are  mere  pointed  pieces  of  wood  without  any  feathers,  others 
are  feathered ;  some  carry  a  strong  sharp  thorn,  others  are 
tipped  with  iron.  The  iron  arrow-heads  are  of  every  description  ; 
some  resemble  a  nail,  others  have  the  ordinary  triangular  shape 
and  sometimes  carry  one  or  more  barbs.  Some  of  the  arrows 
were  poisoned,  but  the  majority  were  not.  The  poison  used 
was  old  and  practically  harmless  ;  only  a  slight  irritation  re- 
sulted, which  yielded  to  antiseptic  treatment. 

Mumia's  station  takes  its  name  from  having  been  built  next 
to  the  village  of  the  chief  Mumia,  but  he  has  since  removed  his 
own  village  somewhat  farther  off. 

One  day,  close  to  Mumia's,  I  came  upon  a  group  of  grotesquely 
attired  mummers,  and  was  told  that  it  was  in  honour  of  a  Kavi- 
rondo  wedding.  The  young  men  had  smeared  themselves  all 
over  with  red  or  white  clay.  They  sported  a  curious  head-gear. 
Two  pieces  of  wood,  with  long  white  feathers  fastened  to  them 
so  as  to  look  somewhat  like  small  wings,  were  attached  to  a 
circle  of  leather  which  could  be  passed  round  the  forehead,  thus 
giving  the  appearance  of  winged  heads.  A  boy  blew  a  long 
antelope  horn,  producing  most  dismal  sounds  which  were 
accepted  as  sweet  music  by  the  others.  The  performers  were 
leaping,  jumping,  and  running  races,  but  stopped  to  have  a  look 
at  me  as  I  passed  them  on  the  road.  Marriage  here,  as  every- 
where amongst  savages,  means  purchase.  A  few  native  hoes  and 
some  goats  and  sheep  will  buy  almost  any  girl  except  a  chief's 
daughter,  for  he  expects  to  be  paid  one  or  more  cows.  To  the 
native  mind  this  purchase  constitutes  a  legal  marriage.  The 
girls  pride  themselves  on  the  amount  which  has  to  be  paid  for 
them  to  their  parents,  and  consider  it  a  public  acknowledgment 
of  their  worth.    They  appear  to  be  faithful  wives,  but  the 


76 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


curious  fact  remains  that  if  their  husbands  were  to  part  with 
them  to  some  one  else,  they  would  passively  accept  the  change. 

Mumia  dresses  in  European  fashion,  and  shrewd  traders 
have  got  a  good  deal  of  valuable  ivory  out  of  this  vain  but 
stingy  chief,  by  offering  him  cheap  and  showy  articles  of  dress. 
On  one  of  my  journeys  he  paid  me  a  visit  in  his  state  robes, 
his  latest  brand-new  purchase.  It  was  a  long  bright-coloured 
dressing-gown  !  Probably  he  thought  such  gorgeous  apparel 
must  be  something  particularly  grand  and  imposing,  perhaps 
the  very  latest  fashion  from  Europe. 

Mumia  is  a  tall  lean  man  ;  he  and  many  of  his  subjects  have 
rather  long  and  prominent  front  teeth.  Though  he  himself 
wears  European  clothing,  his  subjects  all  go  more  or  less  naked. 
I  witnessed  a  native  dance  held  in  his  village  in  honour  of  twins 
having  been  born.  Females  of  every  age,  from  the  old  grey- 
haired  great-grandmother  down  to  the  tiny  mite  of  three  years 
old,  joined  in  this  dance  which,  from  a  European  point  of  view, 
was  anything  but  decent.  Two  tall  women,  clothed  in  coloured 
cotton  cloth,  on  joining  in  the  dance  threw  off  their  garments 
and  danced  vigorously  in  the  same  primitive  condition  as  the 
other  nude  dancers.  I  was  told  these  two  were  sisters  of 
Mumia. 

Among  the  Kavirondo  the  women  are  even  greater  smokers 
than  the  men.  The  national  pipe  has  a  black  clumsy  clay  bowl 
and  a  long  reed  stem.  Aged  couples  seem  to  require  the 
soothing  solace  of  a  quiet  smoke  more  frequently  than  younger 
folks. 

One  day  I  was  called  by  Mumia  to  attend  his  favourite  wife. 
Mumia  was  then  building  a  new  village,  consisting  of  a  number 
of  huts  surrounding  a  large  inner  circular  space.  I  wanted  to 
know  in  which  hut  the  patient  lay,  and  asked  Mumia  which  was 
his  hut ;  he  replied  all  of  them  were  his,  as  all  contained  his 
wives  and  attendants.  The  village  was  his  dwelling,  the  wealthy 
African's  many-roomed  palace.  When  he  brought  me  to  where 
the  sufferer  lay  ill,  it  was  so  dark  inside  the  hut  that  I  had  to 
light  a  lantern.  The  woman  lay  absolutely  nude  on  the  bare 
mud  floor.  When  I  had  attended  to  the  patient,  Mumia  pro- 
vided me  with  a  gourd-bowl  of  water,  a  towel,  and  some  soap. 
The  savage  and  the  civilised  were  thus  strangely  combined. 
What  little  value  Mumia  sets  on  a  wife  or  two,  more  or  less, 
would  appear   from  what  a  civilian  at  the  station  told  me. 


KAVIRONDO 


77 


Mumia  came  one  day  crying  and  lamenting  that  lightning  had 
struck  one  of  his  huts  and  had  burnt  a  quantity  of  his  valued 
European  clothing.  Some  time  after,  rumour  reached  the 
official  that  a  woman  had  been  burnt  to  death  in  the  same 
fire.  To  make  sure,  he  inquired  of  Mumia.  With  a  gesture 
expressive  of  the  unimportance  he  attached  to  such  a  question, 
Mumia  answered :  "  Yes,  yes  !  But  think  of  the  clothes  I 
lost — my  clothes,  my  clothes  ! " 

Mumia,  though  wealthy,  belongs  to  the  type  of  men,  met 


A  KAVIRONDO  VILLAGE-FORGE. 

with  also  amongst  Europeans,  who  endeavour  to  get  without 
payment  professional  advice  and  assistance  from  a  medical 
man  ;  and  when  they  have  received  it,  they  are  more  ungrateful 
than  ever  to  their  benefactor,  on  the  principle,  probably,  that 
"the  cheaper  the  article  the  less  its  value"  applies  also  to 
surgical  help  when  rendered  without  exacting  a  heavy  fee. 

On  my  last  journey,  in  passing  through  I  gaga's  country, 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  Kavirondo  village-forge  in 
active  work.  It  looked  a  very  tumbledown  place,  merely 
screening  off  the  sun  from  striking  direct  on  the  fire.  The 
smith  and  his  three  assistants  were  hard  at  work  ;  some  idlers 
from  the  village  had  dropped  in  for  a  chat  round  the  homely 
"  foo-foo-foo-foo-foo "  sound   of  the  bellows.     I   too  should 


78 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


have  enjoyed  to  loiter  for  a  while  with  them  ;  but  I  had  a 
ten-hours'  march  to  accomplish,  past  friendly  Xgira's  district 
and  on  to  Xdui. 

Next  day  I  reached  the  Nzoia  river  and  crossed  it  for 
the  first  time  in  the  Government  ferry.  It  is  a  wide  and  flat- 
bottomed  boat.  A  strong  wire  rope  spans  the  river,  and  by 
turning  a  wheel  another  wire  rope  is  wound  up  and  draws 
the  ferry  to  the  other  bank.  This  is  one  of  the  road-improve- 
ments introduced  by  the  late  Captain  Sclater  whom  the 
Government  had  entrusted  with  the  construction  of  a  cart- 
road  to  Uganda.  He  had  but  just  accomplished  his  task, 
when  he  was  carried  off  by  an  attack  of  black-water  fever 
and  found  his  grave  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


O 


USOGA. 

N  the  overland  journey  to 
Uganda,  the  traveller  on 
leaving  Kavirondo  enters 
Usoga,  and  he  notices  a 
complete  and  remarkable  change  in 
every  respect.  From  the  absolutely 
nude  savages  in  Kavirondo  he  passes 
to  a  race  where  not  even  the  youngest 
walk  about  uncovered  ;  from  a  stingy 
and  inhospitable  tribe  he  joins  one 
which  greets  him  with  a  hearty  wel- 
come and  extends  to  him  a  lavish 
hospitality  ;  from  treeless  grass-lands 
he  finds  himself  in  a  well  wooded 
country  and  under  the  refreshing 
shade  of  magnificent  trees  ;  from 
circular  villages  fortified  with  earth-wall  and  trench  he  is 
among  unprotected  dwellings,  of  which  a  few  of  the  better 
class  have  a  fragile  reed-fence  put  up  for  privacy  and  orna- 
ment. The  two  races  differ  also  in  language  and  in  form  of 
government ;  the  Wasoga  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
king  of  Uganda,  the  Wakavirondo  do  not. 

Placed  between  Uganda  and  Kavirondo,  Usoga,  as  might 
be  expected,  admits  the  currency  of  both  realms,  though 
naturally  the  cloth  and  shells  of  Uganda  are  more  acceptable 
than  the  beads  of  Kavirondo.  The  Wasoga  prefer  red  beads, 
in  payment  for  small  purchases.  The  women  wear  bark-cloth 
wrapped  round  the  waist  and  reaching  to  the  knees  ;  the 
upper  half  of  their  body  remains  uncovered.  The  men  dress 
like  the  Waganda,  in  bark-cloth  or  cotton  garments. 

79 


USOGA 
HUBBLE-BUBBLE 


USOGA 
HUBBLE-BUBBLE. 


8o 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


A  family  group  in  Usoga  includes  a  goodly  number.  The 
bountiful  food  supply  bestowed  by  Nature's  inexhaustible 
wealth  banishes  want  and  all  its  attendant  miseries,  and  en- 
ables man  to  provide  liberally  for  his  numerous  offspring. 

They  appear  to  be  a  happy  and  contented  race,  judging 
from  the  festive  tom-tom  and  the  shrill  reed-pipe,  which  pro- 
claim that  a  merry-making  is  taking  place  in  the  straggling 
hamlet.  In  one  of  their  villages  I  came  upon  a  huge  drum. 
It  reached  to  the  shoulders  of  a  tall  woman  standing  by  it 
with  a  baby  in  her  arms.  It  was  carved  out  of  a  solid  block 
of  wood  from  some  gigantic  tree.  It  narrowed  towards  the 
base,  the  diameter  of  which  was  less  than  half  that  of  the 
upper  surface.  It  was  covered  with  cow-hide,  and  held  to- 
gether by  twisted  strips  of  leather.  The  Soudanese  mutineers 
had  passed  this  way,  and  finding  the  drum  too  unwieldy  to 
carry  off,  they  had  driven  their  knives  through  the  top  leather 
and  had  ripped  the  upper  covering  open. 

The  Usoga  hut  has  neither  the  mud  wall  nor  the  verandah  of 
the  Kavirondo  hut.  It  is  bee-hive  in  form,  and  the  grass  thatch 
reaches  right  down  to  the  ground.  It  is  usually  very  lofty,  but 
the  available  space  inside  is  considerably  diminished  by  the  many 
props  and  poles  for  supporting  the  roof. 

As  soon  as  a  caravan  has  camped,  the  chief  or  headman  will 
call  on  the  caravan  leader  to  ascertain  how  many  loads  of  food 
are  wanted.  The  food  is  supplied  gratis  ;  a  small  present  in 
cloth  is  handed  to  the  chief,  not  in  payment,  but  in  recognition 
of  the  courtesy  ;  it  is  the  African  mode  of  showing  friendship. 
The  food  of  the  Wasoga  consists  almost  exclusively  of  green 
bananas,  either  roasted  in  the  fire  or  boiled  with  the  peel  left 
on,  or  first  peeled  and  then  boiled  and  mashed.  The  Usoga 
banana  plantations  are  very  extensive,  and  nestle  among  the 
tall  trees. 

There  is  scarcely  any  other  fruit  to  be  had  in  the  country 
except  ripe  bananas.  But  for  this  exception,  Usoga  is  the 
nearest  approach  to  what  the  imagination  pictures  the  Garden 
of  Eden  to  have  been.  The  great  tropical  heat  is  mellowed  by 
the  leafy  shade  of  the  trees  into  a  luxurious  comfort.  The 
dead  branches  supply  more  firewood  than  necessary.  The 
banana  plantation  provides  food  throughout  all  the  seasons  ; 
and  thus  it  is  harvest-time  all  the  year  round.  The  banana- 
tree  yields  its  fruit  only  once,  and  then  dies  ;  but  it  provides 


USOGA 


81 


for  the  future  by  sprouting  six  to  ten  young  trees  from  the  soil 
in  a  narrow  circle  around  it.  The  shade  of  the  bananas  helps 
to  keep  down  the  rank  weeds.  A  little  labour  keeps  the  planta- 
tion clean  and  sweet ;  and  the  soft,  juicy  stem  of  the  banana- 
tree  can  be  felled  by  a  single  blow  from  a  bill-hook,  wherever  a 
superabundance  of  young  trees  necessitates  their  being  thinned, 
or  an  old  tree  which  has  yielded  its  bunch  of  fruit  requires  to  be 
removed. 

The  well-known  grey  parrot  with  the  red  tail  was  originally 
found  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  ;  but  when  caravans  brought 
these  birds  to  the  east  coast,  it  was  discovered  that  Usoga  was 
also  their  habitat.  They  can  be  seen  by  the  score  flying  from 
tree  to  tree,  or  screaming  overhead  as  they  wing  their  noisy 
flight  in  search  of  change  of  scene. 

Resting  on  soft  grass-mats  under  the  fitful  play  of  the  trem- 
bling shadows  on  the  clean-swept  ground ;  catching  the  soft  breeze 
gently  whispering  amongst  the  rustling  leaves  of  the  bananas  ; 
listening  to  the  distant  sough  of  the  mighty  forest  giants  which 
stretch  a  hundred  leafy  arms  towards  heaven  ;  comfortably  and 
cleanly  dressed  in  simple  white  clothing  ;  with  a  mind  at  rest 
from  worldly  cares,  owing  to  the  simple  wants  of  this  primitive 
existence  being  abundantly  provided  for  by  Nature  ;  with  flower- 
ing shrubs  perfuming  the  air,  inquisitive  monkeys  peeping 
among  the  foliage,  lovely  butterflies  floating  silently  from  flower 
to  flower,  pretty  birds  skimming  past,  is  like  having  a  passing 
glimpse  of  Paradise  on  earth. 

Even  under  the  prosaic  verandah  of  the  unromantic  station 
at  Luba's,  the  companion  of  my  first  journey  was  so  impressed 
by  the  balmy  air,  the  peaceful  stillness,  the  lovely  view,  that  he 
said  to  me  :  "  What  a  place  to  dream  away  a  year  or  two  of  one's 
existence  ! "  He  was  a  brave  major,  and  had  many  a  sanguinary 
fight  to  go  through  later  on,  but,  like  myself,  he  was  enjoying  the 
momentary  rest  and  peace  before  the  busy  days  of  a  stirring  life 
hustled  us  again  hither  and  thither. 

Usoga  is  separated  from  Uganda  by  the  Victoria  Nile. 
Luba's  is  situated  on  the  lake,  and  the  traveller  here  has  the 
first  view  of  Uganda  in  the  distance.  The  name  Luba  is  familiar 
to  all  who  have  read  of  Bishop  Hannington's  murder.  It  is  a 
pity  that  the  unfortunate  bishop  made  the  great  mistake  of 
insisting  on  entering  Uganda  via  Usoga,  in  direct  opposition  to 
a  popular  superstition,  according  to  which  the  future  conquerors 

F 


82 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


of  Uganda  would  endeavour  to  pass  that  way.  The  noble  mis- 
sionary Mackay  wisely  went  to  Uganda  by  the  usual  southern 
route,  and  thus  avoided  incurring  the  displeasure  of  a  timid  but 
autocrat  ruler.  Luba  acted  under  direct  orders  received  from 
King  Mwanga,  when  he  arrested  the  Bishop  and  ordered  his 
execution.  Luba  is  a  tall  elderly  man,  lean  and  spare,  with  a 
large  heavy  face.  He  wields  considerable  influence  over  the 
lake-shore  dwellers  ;  but  he  is  a  weak  character,  easily  moulded 
and  directed  by  a  stronger  mind.    He  controls  scores  of  boats 


USOGA  BOATS. 


and  hundreds  of  boatmen,  and  as  long  as  caravans  have  to  cross 
into  Uganda  via  Luba's,  he  will  remain  a  chief  whose  influence 
has  to  be  reckoned  with  in  all  transport  arrangements  across 
the  Nile. 

The  Usoga  boats  remind  one  of  New  Zealand  war-canoes. 
The  boat  is  long  and  narrow  and  has  usually  a  dozen  seats  ;  one 
man  sits  at  the  stern  and  guides  the  boat  with  his  paddle 
which  is  used  instead  of  a  rudder  ;  another  man  sits  at  the  bow 
and  is  ready  with  a  long  pole  to  do  the  necessary  punting 
where  the  water  is  shallow;  the  remaining  ten  seats  are  occupied 
by  twenty  boatmen.  The  boats  are  formed  of  long  planks, 
slowly  and  laboriously  chipped  from  a  tree-trunk  of  suitable 


USOGA 


83 


size.  The  planks  are  stitched  together  with  some  vegetable 
fibre  and  caulked  with  water-weeds.  The  result  is  that  all 
the  boats  leak  more  or  less  freely  ;  and  one  man,  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  boat,  is  employed  the  whole  time  in  baling 
out  the  water  with  a  gourd-bowl.  From  the  lower  anterior 
part  of  the  boat  protrudes  a  long  pointed  nose  like  a  ram, 
and  the  stern  terminates  somewhat  similarly.  From  the  anterior 
part  there  curves  upwards  a  pole  which  becomes  vertical,  is 
about  five  or  six  feet  high,  and  is  surmounted  by  an  ornament. 
The  ornament  usually  consists  of  a  pair  of  antelope  horns, 
between  which  a  huge  bunch  of  gay  feathers  is  tied.  A  fluttering 
festoon  of  shredded  palm-leaves  stretches  from  the  base  of  the 
antelope  horns  to  the  boat.  Similar  festoons  deck  both  sides  of 
the  boat  near  the  stern.  In  spite  of  its  size  the  boat  can  take 
but  five  to  seven  porters  with  their  loads.  A  large  caravan 
therefore  requires  quite  a  fleet  of  boats  to  cross  Napoleon's 
Gulf,  as  this  strip  of  the  lake  is  sometimes  called.  The  bright- 
coloured  bunches  of  feathers,  the  picturesque  boats,  the  noisy 
crowd,  make  a  pleasing  and  animated  scene.  The  boatmen 
use  paddles  made  of  a  remarkably  light  but  tough  wood. 

The  paddles  are  usually  flat  and  spear-shaped  ;  some  have  a 
slightly  broader  blade  than  others,  but  all  terminate  in  a  sharp 
point.  The  men  paddle  almost  incessantly  for  the  hour  and 
a  half  it  takes  to  cross  the  Nile.  They  sing  merrily  and  keep 
time  with  the  splashing  paddles,  and  the  boat  seems  literally 
to  shoot  through  the  water.  Almost  invariably  a  good-natured 
but  vigorous  race  takes  place,  which  lightens  labour  and  turns 
toil  into  pleasure.  The  victorious  crew  then  give  a  shout  of 
triumph  and  wave  their  paddles  aloft.  The  men  usually  strip 
to  the  waist  whilst  rowing,  but  at  once  don  their  bark-cloth  on 
landing. 

I  had  a  rather  curious  experience  on  my  first  journey.  I 
was  asked  to  accompany  a  fleet  of  about  twenty  of  these  boats 
from  Sio  Bay  (in  Kavirondo)  to  Luba's  (in  Usoga);  my  com- 
panion was  to  join  me  later  on.  We  rowed  almost  without 
a  break  from  early  dawn  to  4  P.M. ;  then  the  Wasoga  boatmen 
gave  me  to  understand  by  signs,  for  there  was  not  a  soul 
present  who  could  speak  to  them,  that  they  had  done  enough 
work  for  the  day  and  would  like  to  land ;  they  pointed  to  a 
spot  where  smoke  indicated  the  presence  of  huts.  Believing 
that  they  must  know  their  own  business  best,  I  nodded  assent. 


84  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


At  once  the  boats  placed  themselves  in  a  sort  of  line-of-battle 
array,  and  with  incredible  speed,  the  boatmen  shouting  and 
yelling  like  mad,  we  dashed  towards  one  of  the  numerous  inlets. 

Instead  of  the  expected  peaceful  landing,  I  witnessed  with 
surprise  what  looked  for  all  the  world  like  a  bold  attack  on  an 
enemy's  country.  Most  of  my  crews  rushed  ashore  armed  with 
shields  and  spears.  Some  terrified  inhabitants  ran  away  into 
the  woods,  while  my  lawless  mob  of  boatmen  pounced  on 
fowls  and  chickens,  tore  up  vegetable  marrows  and  pumpkins, 
seized  all  the  fish  they  found  in  the  dug-outs,  and  recklessly 
cut  down  banana-trees  right  and  left  to  get  at  the  fruit. 
Screams  made  me  hurry  unarmed  ashore,  just  in  time  to  save 
a  poor  old  woman  from  having  three  young  goats  snatched 
from  her.  As  soon  as  I  had  enabled  her  to  retreat  to  the  safe 
shelter  of  the  woods,  I  had  to  save  a  man  whom  the  boatmen 
had  seized  and,  for  all  I  knew,  were  going  to  spear.  The 
wretches  bolted  off  when  they  saw  me,  and  the  man  I  had 
saved  ran  for  his  life  and  escaped. 

Then  some  armed  natives  deployed  out  of  the  banana 
groves.  At  the  sight  of  this  score  of  armed  men,  my  400 
cowardly  Wasoga  robbers  fled  to  the  boats.  A  shower  of 
stones  was  flung  at  us  and  wounded  a  few.  A  stone  about 
the  size  of  my  fist  struck  me  in  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  For- 
tunately it  was  a  spent  stone,  or  I  should  have  been  doubled 
up  on  the  spot  and  would  then  most  probably  have  been 
speared.  It  served  as  a  hint  that  unarmed  I  should  only  be 
throwing  away  my  life  by  remaining.  Under  cover  of  this 
shower  of  stones,  some  tried  to  rush  us  with  spears,  when  "  bang  ! 
bang  ! "  went  off  some  muzzle-loaders,  proving  that  the  natives 
could  also  muster  a  few  guns. 

When  I  turned  round,  I  found  my  men  had  got  into  their 
boats  and  were  vigorously  paddling  off.  I  was  left  quite 
alone.  I  reached  the  lake,  threw  myself  in,  and  struck  out 
for  the  boats.  I  am  a  very  indifferent  swimmer,  as  I  get  too 
quickly  exhausted.  I  would  not  have  ventured  upon  such  a 
performance  in  time  of  peace  on  any  inducement.  It  is 
astonishing  what  undreamt-of  feats  the  pressure  of  circum- 
stances may  get  the  most  reluctant  of  us  to  attempt !  It  was 
my  first  swim  with  all  my  clothes  on.  I  did  not  relish  it, 
and  I  have  no  desire  to  repeat  it.  Not  one  of  the  boats  came 
to  my  help.    I  only  wonder  I  did  not  get  drowned  before  I 


USOGA 


85 


reached  a  boat.  The  crocodiles  had  probably  been  scared  off 
by  the  awful  din.  Many  of  the  nearer  boats  paddled  away  the 
quicker  when  I  approached  them,  in  their  terror  taking  me 
for  a  desperate  enemy  wishing  to  board  them.  My  boy  had 
remained  in  the  boat ;  but  when  he  drew  my  rifle  out  of  its 
canvas  covering,  my  boatmen  paused,  allowed  me  to  reach 
them,  and  drew  me  into  the  boat. 

With  the  boat  at  a  pretty  safe  distance,  and  with  me  aboard 
and  now  armed  with  a  rifle,  my  boatmen  became  quite  plucky 


THE  NEW  FORT  AT  I.UBA's  IN  USOGA. 


again.  Pointing  to  a  solitary  sentinel  posted  on  a  conspicuous 
rock,  they  begged  me  to  shoot  him.  I  felt  more  inclined  to 
shoot  them  for  having  been  the  aggressors.  I  was  told  after- 
wards, that  we  had  landed  on  one  of  the  Uvuma  islands, 
inhabited  by  a  plucky  but  treacherous  race  which  hates  the 
Wasoga.  The  Uvuma  islanders  fall,  for  administrative  pur- 
poses, under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  official  in  charge  of  Usoga. 

The  Usoga  pipe  differs  from  those  in  use  in  Uganda  and  in 
Kavirondo.  The  Wasoga  use  a  hubble-bubble  ;  it  consists  of  a 
small  gourd,  with  a  reed  mouth-piece  at  the  side  and  a  small 
red  clay  bowl  stuck  on  the  top.  The  wooden  drinking-cup 
reminds  one  of  a  communion  chalice  ;  it  is  carved  out  of  a 
solid  piece  of  wood. 


86 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


It  was  at  Luba's,  where  the  Soudanese  mutineers  made  their 
first  stand  and  where  they  murdered  three  Europeans.  Poor 
Major  Thruston  had  lately  succeeded  to  the  highest  military 
post,  viz.,  that  of  Commandant  of  the  Uganda  Rifles,  a  force 
composed  at  that  time  entirely  of  Soudanese.  He  spoke  Arabic 
fluently,  and,  as  I  thought,  knew  the  Soudanese  thoroughly. 
But  his  openly  expressed  affection  for  them  led  him  to  trust 
these  blacks  too  much.  He  was  in  hopes  that  his  mere  un- 
armed presence  would  restore  confidence,  whereas  the  mutineers 
immediately  placed  hands  on  him  and  on  Mr.  N.  Wilson,  the 
civilian  in  charge  of  Luba's.  I  can  only  speak  of  this  from 
hearsay,  as  I  was  stationed  at  the  time  in  Unyoro. 

The  mutineers  had  already  placed  Major  Thruston  and 
Mr.  Wilson  in  irons,  when  Mr.  Scott,  in  charge  of  a  Govern- 
ment dhow,  put  in  at  Luba's.  If  what  I  heard  is  true,  Mr. 
Scott  was  warned  by  his  own  men  not  to  land,  but  he  either 
could  not  understand  them  or  refused  to  be  guided.  The 
moment  he  landed,  he  was  seized  by  the  mutineers  and  led 
to  the  fort.  According  to  one  story,  he  tore  himself  free  and 
made  a  rush  for  his  dhow,  but,  though  a  burly  and  strong 
man,  he  was  caught,  overpowered,  and  placed  in  irons  ;  and 
the  villains,  it  is  said,  threw  him  on  the  ground  and  inflicted  a 
number  of  lashes  with  a  hippo-thong. 

Next  day  the  mutineers  made  their  unsuccessful  assault  on 
the  small  party  of  Europeans  stationed  on  the  adjoining  hill. 
Exasperated  by  their  defeat  and  in  revenge,  they,  on  returning 
to  the  fort,  murdered  the  three  unfortunate  captive  Europeans 
in  cold  blood.  According  to  some,  ghastly  suffering  was  in- 
flicted ;  according  to  others,  Bilal  Effendi,  the  ringleader, 
murdered  all  three  by  blowing  out  their  brains. 

In  the  subsequent  severe  righting  around  Luba's,  hundieds 
of  our  Waganda  and  Swahili  allies  were  killed,  but  comparatively 
few  of  the  mutineers  who  had  the  advantage  of  being  trained 
and  disciplined  soldiers,  armed  with  excellent  rifles  and  with  any 
amount  of  captured  ammunition.  Hearing  of  the  approach  of 
Indian  troops,  the  mutineers  thought  it  advisable  to  move  off  ; 
they  proceeded  up  the  Nile,  and  finally  met  with  a  crushing 
defeat  on  their  way  to  Unyoro. 

The  old  fort  at  Luba's  was  found  to  be  full  of  graves  of 
Soudanese  mutineers,  and  it  was  undermined  with  holes  to 
shelter  those  in  the  fort  from  the  hostile  fire.    It  was  there- 


USOGA 


87 


fore  destroyed  and  levelled  with  the  ground,  when  it  came  once 
more  into  the  hands  of  Government.  A  new  fort  was  speedily 
erected.  It  is  close  to  the  old  fort,  but  nearer  to  the  lake. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  bodies  of  the  murdered  Europeans 
were  thrown  by  the  mutineers  to  the  hyaenas.  A  search, 
however,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  remains  of  one,  the 
skull  being  recognised  by  the  stopping  in  some  of  the  teeth. 
These  remains  were  reverently  buried.  A  wooden  cross  and 
a  simple  railing  mark  the  spot.  I  was  told,  that  the  skull  showed 
a  bullet  mark  through  the  forehead ;  this  would  refute  the 
story  of  a  lin- 
gering death 
having  been 
inflicted. 

During 
these  troubles 
Chief  Luba 
had  prudently 
shifted  his 
quarters  to  a 
distance,  but 
he  had  the 
good  sense 
not  to  throw 
in  his  lot  with 
the  mutineers. 

Luba's,  a  quiet  pigmies  of  the  great  African  forest. 

haven  of  rest, 

and  Luba's  turned  into  a  pandemonium  with  the  slaughtered 
lying  about  unburied  and  by  the  score,  was  indeed  a  fearful 
contrast.  Suleiman  Effendi — I  remember  him  well,  for  he  was 
sent  to  me  in  1894  to  be  captain  of  the  Soudanese  troops  at 
Kampala  when  I  was  in  command  there — was  one  of  the  first 
mutineers  who  fell.  That  he  was  brave  is  proved  by  his  being 
shot  close  to  the  British  lines.  He  was  buried,  but  the  hyaenas 
dug  him  out  again.  Once  more  he  was  buried,  and  again  ex- 
humed by  the  hyaenas  which,  scenting  the  dead,  had  suddenly 
appeared  on  the  scene  by  the  dozen,  though  previously  not  at 
all  very  common  in  the  neighbourhood. 

On  my  last  journey  through  Luba's  I  saw  two  pigmies  of  the 
Great  African  Forest,  a  man  and  a  woman.    In  size  they  seemed 


88 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


children  of  nine  to  ten  years  old.  They  were  originally  captured 
by  some  other  African  race  and  carried  off  into  slavery  ;  in 
course  of  time  they  came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  W.  Grant,  the 
officer  in  command  of  Usoga.  The  male  pigmy  has  a  con- 
siderable assortment  of  vices  :  he  is  drunken  and  dissolute  to 
a  degree,  easily  roused  to  fury,  and  very  vindictive  ;  but  he 
appears  to  be  attached  to  his  master,  and  accompanies  him  on 
every  campaign. 

From  one  of  my  journeys  through  Usoga  I  brought  a 
Mozambique  monkey  and  a  pair  of  grey  parrots  to  England. 
All  three  did  very  well  in  London.  "  Jim,"  the  monkey,  occa- 
sionally got  loose  ;  but  though  he  could  not  be  caught  as  he 
jumped  from  house  to  house  and  tree  to  tree,  he  invariably 
returned  at  night-time  to  his  cage  and  slept  soundly,  thoroughlv 
tired  out  with  his  day's  romp.  To  avoid  his  becoming  a 
nuisance  to  our  neighbours,  he  was  ultimately  sent  to  the  Zoo, 
after  having  been  for  over  two  years  the  pet  of  the  family.  He 
knew  me  at  once,  though  he  had  not  seen  me  for  two  years. 
The  parrots  have  stood  two  London  winters  already  and  are 
flourishing.  It  is  curious  that  the  colour  of  their  eyes,  which 
was  originally  grey,  has  changed  to  bright  yellow.  They  are 
very  good  talkers.  I  bought  these  birds  young.  There  is  a 
considerable  trade  carried  on  in  grey  parrots,  and  as  there  is 
a  good  demand  for  them,  they  are  not  cheap  even  in  Usoga. 
At  the  coast  they  fetch  as  much  as  £2  to  ^3  each.  I  tried  at 
first  to  get  a  bird  by  slightly  maiming  it  with  a  shot,  but  the 
bird  I  aimed  at  tumbled  down  dead;  it  was  a  big  handsome 
old  bird.  I  skinned  it,  and  to  my  surprise  I  found  that  the 
South  Kensington  Museum  was  pleased  to  get  the  skin.  These 
birds  are  so  very  common  in  Usoga,  that  no  one  ever  dreams 
of  shooting  one  for  a  collection.  Museums,  however,  do  not 
care  for  cage-birds,  but  prefer  to  get  a  wild  specimen  ;  con- 
sequently the  bird  I  had  unintentionally  killed  proved  an 
acceptable  acquisition  to  the  Museum. 

Visiting  the  ruins  of  the  old  fort  at  Luba's,  I  came  upon  a 
porter  playing  the  "zeze,"  a  Swahili  musical  instrument.  It 
consists  of  a  flat  piece  of  carved  wood,  having  a  gourd-bowl 
attached  to  one  end.  It  is  three-stringed  ;  one  string  runs 
along  the  flat  upper  surface,  and  the  other  two  strings  pass 


USOGA 


89 


along  the  sides.  It  is  held  with  both  arms  hanging  down  in  a 
most  lazy  attitude,  and  it  utters  a  monotonous  ting-a-ling  sound 
which  is  highly  appreciated  by  Swahilies. 

The  presence  of  the  minstrel  twanging  his  "zeze"  was  an 
outward  visible  sign  that  peace  and  tranquillity  once  more  held 
sway  over  dreamy,  delightful  Usoga. 


USOGA  DRIXKING-CUP. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  WAGANDA. 

UGANDA  (or  Buganda)  denotes  the 
country,  Waganda  the  race,  Lug- 
anda  their  language. 

The  native  constitution  acknow- 
ledges three  estates:  the  king,  the  lords,  and 
the  commons,  known  as  Kabaka,  Siol,  and 
Makope  respectively. 

Travellers  to  Uganda,  before  the  British 
occupation  of  the  country,  were  astonished  to 
find  the  inhabitants  so  highly  advanced  in 
civilisation  and  form  of  government,  when 
compared  with  the  condition  of  the  savages 
surrounding  them  on  every  side. 

The    form    of    government    is  strikingly 
analogous  to  the  feudal  system.    The  sove- 
uganda  shield.     reign  is  lord  paramount ;   the  land  belongs 
to  him  ;  he  is  the  fountain  of  justice  and  of 
honour,  and  his  consent  is  necessary  to  every  decision  arrived 
at  by  the  Great  Council  of  the  State. 

The  lords  are  subdivided  into  thirty  different  degrees  of  rank. 
Of  the  great  chiefs  there  are  about  ten.  They  hold  certain  high 
offices  which  carry  with  them  the  revenue  and  administration 
of  some  province.  For  instance,  the  ruler  of  the  province  of 
Chagwe  is  called  the  Sekibobo,  and  the  chief  of  the  province 
of  Singo  is  known  as  the  Makwenda  ;  the  Kangao  rules  Bulam- 
wezi  (written  also  Bulemezi),  and  the  Pokino  has  Budu.  The 
great  chiefs  hold  their  land  direct  from  the  crown,  and  in  return 
have  certain  feudal  obligations  to  fulfil  ;  in  case  of  war  they 
have  to  provide  an  army  ;  they  have  to  keep  the  public  roads 

and  bridges  in  repair,  and  they  have  to  furnish  the  king  with 

90 


THE  WAGANDA 


91 


labourers  whenever  he  requires  any.  The  smaller  chiefs  hold 
from  the  greater  chiefs  on  similar  terms,  and  this  system  is 
carried  down  to  the  smallest  and  humblest  rank  of  chiefs. 

The  Makope  are  the  peasant  and  labouring  class.  They 
used  to  be,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  the  serfs  or  slaves  attached 
to  the  land.  In  return  for  being  allowed  to  cultivate  their  fields, 
they  had  to  work  without  payment  for  their  chief. 

The  king,  when  he  wanted  money,  would  claim  it  from  the 
great  chiefs  ;  these,  in  their  turn,  would  demand  it  from  the  sub- 
chiefs,  and  so  on  ;  the  Makope  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  being 
ultimately  the  one  who  had  to  bear  the  burden  and  who  was, 
not  unfrequently,  mercilessly  squeezed. 

The  Makope  or  Waganda  peasants  dress  in  bark-cloth  in 
Roman  toga  fashion.  The  garment  is  knotted  over  one  shoulder, 
leaving  the  arms  bare. 
The  men  generally  go 
about  barefoot  and  bare- 
headed, though  some  are 
adopting  a  head-covering 
which  is  either  a  white 
cotton  skull-cap,  a  red 
fez,  or  a  small  turban. 
The  system  of  extorting 
unpaid  labour  out  of 
the  Makope  was  formerly 
universal.  It  was  carried 
so  far  that  chiefs  would 
even  order  their  men 
to  work  without  pay  for 
strangers.     A   chief,   for  waganda  pevsants. 

instance,  would  figure  as 

the  generous  supporter  of  some  particular  missionary  by 
building  a  house  for  him  as  a  present,  and  would  reap 
thanks  and  praise  for  his  liberality.  In  plain  language,  this 
donation  meant  that  the  chief  had  compelled  some  unfor- 
tunate peasants,  under  threat  of  punishment,  to  provide, 
without  any  payment  whatever,  the  necessary  material  and 
labour  ;  the  work  to  be  done  was  divided  amongst  the  men, 
and  each  one  had  to  do  a  certain  portion.  It  has  happened, 
therefore,  that  the  missionary  has  been  left  for  a  shorter  or 
longer  period  with  part  of  some  building  unfinished,  because 


92  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  man  who  had  been  ordered  to  construct  it  tried  to  evade 
the  hateful  exaction. 

The  system  of  paid  labour  came  only  gradually  into  force, 
owing  to  the  passive  hostility  of  the  chiefs  who  declined  to 
send  labourers  ;  in  other  words,  they  prevented  their  peasants 
from  accepting  the  paid-labour  offered  by  the  Government. 
In  1894  a  few  natives  applied  voluntarily  for  work,  and  when 
they  found  that  it  paid  them  to  work  for  the  Government, 
and  that  they  were  allowed  to  keep  what  they  had  earned,  more 
and  more  came  forward  ;  and  now,  scores  waiting  for  employ- 
ment may  be  seen  at  Kampala  every  morning. 

One  of  the  important  duties  of  a  peasant  is  to  keep  in 
order  the  reed-fences  which  enclose  dwellings  and  planta- 
tions. These  reed-fences,  when  new,  look  very  elegant ;  but 
they  are  most  fragile  and  do  not  last  long.  Hence  it  is  a 
never-ending  labour  to  keep  them  in  order.  They  are  con- 
structed of  the  stems  of  the  elephant-grass,  either  in  the  shape 
of  interlacing  trellis-work  or  as  vertical  rods  bound  together 
by  horizontal  bundles.  A  reed-fence  consists  of  a  reed-screen 
suported  by  poles  which  are  cut  from  green  straight  branches, 
and  are  driven  into  the  ground  at  distances  of  ten  feet  from 
each  other.  The  poles  frequently  strike  root  and  flourish  into 
trees,  hence  the  pleasant  leafy  appearance  of  most  of  these 
fences. 

Calling  one  day  on  the  Kangao,  one  of  the  great  Waganda 
chiefs,  I  saw  a  good  illustration  of  the  two  styles  of  reed- 
fences  side  by  side  ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  enclosure  sat  a 
prisoner  "  in  the  stocks,"  shredding  with  a  knife  strips  of  palm 
leaves  into  narrower  strips  preparatory  to  mat-making. 

The  punishment  of  being  "  in  the  stocks  "  consists  in  passing 
the  foot  through  a  hole  bored  through  some  heavy  log  of 
wood  ;  a  wooden  peg  is  then  hammered  through,  to  narrow 
the  aperture  and  to  prevent  the  foot  from  being  withdrawn. 
A  pad  of  banana  leaves  is  placed  between  the  log  and  the 
ankle  to  prevent  the  cruel  charing  which  would  otherwise 
result ;  and  if  the  log  is  very  heavy  there  is  a  rope  attached 
to  one  end  to  enable  the  prisoner  to  support  some  of  the 
weight  with  his  hand. 

A  peculiarity  of  Waganda  dwellings  is  the  number  of  outer 
courts  one  has  to  pass  through  to  arrive  at  the  house  itself.  I 
once  counted  twelve  of  these  outer  courts.    With  the  wealthier 


I 


I 


THE  WAGANDA 


93 


classes  each  court  has  a  hut  which  serves  as  a  waiting-room 
for  visitors.  The  number  of  the  courts  is  more  or  less  indi- 
cative of  the  rank  of  the  individual. 

The  native  hut  in  Uganda  is  a  cone-shaped  building,  the 
grass-thatched  roof  of  which  reaches  right  down  to  the  ground, 
except  at  the  entrance  where  it  is  cut  so  as  to  leave  a  low 
narrow  verandah.  Very  often  the  reed-fence  of  the  enclosure 
meets  the  hut  at  the  two  sides,  so  that  the  front  half  of  the 


A  WAGANDA  FAMILY. 


hut  lies  in  one  court  and  the  second  half  in  another.  The 
heavy  roof  requires  a  strong  support,  and  the  many  poles  and 
pillars  used  for  this  object  greatly  diminish  the  available  space 
inside  the  hut  which  is  dark  and  smoke-stained. 

The  Waganda  style  of  thatching  is  the  best  I  have  yet  seen. 
The  grass  seems  to  lie  so  perfectly  smooth  ;  no  rope  is  required 
to  tie  down  the  thatch  which  is  a  good  protection  against  the 
rain,  and  only  a  strong  gale  could  cause  perceptible  damage. 
The  lower  circle  of  thatch  is  first  attached,  then  another 
over  it  but  higher  up,  and  so  on  to  the  top.  The  grass  to  be 
used  for  this  purpose  is  tied  first  of  all  into  small  bundles 


94 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


about  4  or  5  inches  thick.  The  thick  end  is  cut  straight  ;  the 
bundle  is  held  vertically,  with  the  thick  end  uppermost,  and  is 
thumped  three  or  four  times  against  the  ground.  One  would 
imagine  this  treatment  would  smash  the  thin  ends  of  the  grass, 
but  it  gives  to  the  bundle  ihe  requisite  flexibility  to  lie  smoothly. 
A  wisp  of  the  grass  in  each  bundle  is  twisted,  and  used  as 
the  rope  by  which  the  bundle  is  attached  to  the  framework 
of  the  roof.  With  his  stick  the  thatcher  thumps  the  thatch 
into  a  smooth  shape  and  sweeps  off  the  loose  grass.  Wher- 
ever he  detects  a  hollow  he  lifts  the  thatch  with  his  stick,  and 
inserts  an  additional  bundle  or  two,  which  he  does  not  even 
take  the  trouble  to  tie  down,  and  yet  they  last  perfectly  well 
and  do  not  slip  out  again. 

The  women  wear  the  bark-cloth  wrapped  round  the  body  ; 
they  pass  it  under  the  armpits,  and  not  over  the  shoulder. 
Small  children  of  both  sexes  go  uncovered.  Girls  wear  a 
curious  grass-ring  round  the  waist.  If  the  ring  is  too  loose 
and  likely  to  slip  off,  it  is  upheld  behind  by  a  string  from 
the  neck. 

The  native  chair  or  stool  is  cut  out  of  a  solid  block  of  wood. 
It  consists  of  a  basin-shaped  seat,  a  wide  base,  and  a  short  stem 
connecting  seat  and  base.  In  many  huts  a  cradle-shaped  trough 
is  seen,  cut  out  of  a  solid  block  of  wood ;  this  is  used  for 
squashing  up  bananas  in  the  preparation  of  the  native  brew. 

I  have  often  heard  it  asserted  that  formerly  a  cow,  a  muzzle- 
loader,  and  a  woman,  were  considered  equal  in  value,  and  could 
be  easily  bartered  or  exchanged  the  one  for  the  other.  This 
of  course  has  been  put  a  stop  to.  Polygamy  was  the  rule  in 
Uganda,  but  when  the  Waganda  became  Christians,  the  men 
put  aside  their  plurality  of  wives  and  retained  but  one  each. 
The  Protestant  Prime  Minister  has  only  one  wife  now  ;  I  was 
told  he  had  a  couple  of  hundred  before  his  conversion.  I  do 
not  know  what  became  of  the  discarded  wives,  whether  they 
live  as  lonely  widows,  or  whether  they  have  in  their  turn 
consoled  themselves  by  taking  some  one  else  as  husband. 

One  of  the  useful  local  industries  is  mat-making,  generally 
done  by  women  or  girls.  They  use  the  leaves  of  the  makindo 
or  wild  date-palm.  The  mats  are  whitish-yellow,  soft,  clean,  and 
cool.  Narrow  strips,  i \  to  2  inches  broad,  are  first  of  all  plaited  ; 
and  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  mat  depends  on  the  length 
and  number  of  the  plaited  strips  sewn  together.     The  illus- 


THE  WAGANDA 


95 


tration  shows  two  girls  sitting  on  a  finished  mat,  busily  plaiting 
long  rolls  of  these  strips.  How  fine  and  close  the  work  is, 
can  be  gathered  from  the  number  of  separate  shreds  in  their 
hands  in  process  of  being  plaited  together.  Each  girl  has 
by  her  side  a  bundle  of  the  material  wrapped  up  in  a  banana 
leaf. 

Neither  men  nor  women  in  Uganda  wear  ornaments ;  in  this 
respect  they  present  a  striking  contrast  to  their  savage  neigh- 


WAGANDA  MAT-MAKERS. 


bours.  Their  wants  are  very  simple,  and  the  food  supply  is 
abundant,  consequently  they  lead  a  very  easy,  comfortable, 
contented  life.  The  food  consists  almost  exclusively  of  "  ma- 
toke,"  the  name  given  to  the  national  dish  of  green  bananas, 
or  rather  plantains.  These  are  peeled,  placed  in  a  pot  with  a 
small  quantity  of  water,  and  covered  over  with  folded  green 
banana  leaves,  tightly  packed  over  the  mouth  of  the  pot.  When 
boiled  through,  the  bananas  are  mashed  up,  wrapped  in  clean 
green  banana  leaves  and  are  ready  to  be  served.  The  women 
do  the  cooking  ;  and  as  the  English  missionaries  rather  pride 
themselves  on  living  on  native  food,  most  of  them  employ 


96  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Waganda  women.  The  true  banana  is  called  "memvu,"  and 
is  eaten  ripe,  as  fruit.  There  is  another  sort  of  banana  called 
"gonjia"  by  the  Swahilies.  It  is  twice  the  length  of  the  ordi- 
nary banana,  and  is  used  when  ripe.  It  is  somewhat  reddish 
inside,  and  is  rather  coarse  when  eaten  raw ;  it  is  therefore 
usually  served  either  plain-boiled,  or  else  roasted  in  hot  ashes  ; 
it  has  a  sweet  agreeable  flavour,  and  is  a  favourite  dish. 

The  bark-cloth  tree  is  of  national  importance,  as  it  supplies 
the  material  out  of  which  native  cloth  is  manufactured.  More 
and  more  of  the  population  are,  however,  adopting  cotton  cloth, 
hence  the  manufacture  of  bark-cloth  is  diminishing  every  year. 
The  tree  grows  to  a  stately  height,  with  a  straight  stem  and  a 
mass  of  waving  branches.  The  small  green  leaves  give  a  re- 
freshing shade  and  are  pleasant  to  the  eye.  The  finest  trees  I 
I  saw  in  the  province  of  Singo,  where  a  good  deal  of  the 
bark-cloth  is  manufactured.  The  bark  is  removed  by  two 
circular  cuts  round  the  stem  of  the  tree  and  a  vertical  cut 
joining  these  two.  The  denuded  surface  is  then  carefully 
covered  up,  by  wrapping  dry  banana-leaves  round  the  stem. 
Unless  this  is  done,  a  lot  of  rootlets  grow  from  the  upper 
circular  cut ;  and  whatever  bark  is  ultimately  grown  is  warped 
and  useless.  It  takes  a  year  or  two  for  the  tree  to  renovate 
the  bark  over  the  exposed  surface  ;  it  is  then  stripped  off 
again.  The  tree  is  very  hardy,  and  almost  any  branch,  cut 
off  and  planted,  will  spread  and  grow  up  into  a  tree.  It 
is  therefore  most  useful  for  producing  a  living  stockade  or 
fence. 

If  the  piece  of  bark  does  not  produce  a  cloth  of  the  length 
required  for  the  market,  one  or  more  strips  are  sewn  together ; 
and  this  is  sometimes  done  so  skilfully,  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
detect  the  portion  added,  unless  the  cloth  is  inspected  very 
closely.  In  the  same  way,  holes  or  rents  are  skilfully  patched. 
The  colour  is  usually  a  red-brown.  Some  bark-cloths  have 
a  geometrical  pattern,  but  black-patterned  bark-cloth  went 
out  of  fashion  before  King  Mtesa's  days.  It  is  now  prepared 
principally  to  serve  as  an  article  of  decoration. 

The  manufacture  of  bark-cloth  is  extremely  simple.  The 
bark  is  slightly  moistened,  placed  over  a  smooth  wooden  log 
which  serves  as  an  anvil,  and  is  then  hammered  and  flattened 
out  by  means  of  a  wooden  mallet.  The  head  of  the  mallet 
resembles  a  small  solid  wheel,  and  is  ribbed  horizontally  along 


THE  WAGANDA 


97 


the  outer  circumference  as  seen  in  coins.  This  allows  the 
hammered  portion  of  the  bark  to  expand  laterally  along  the 
interstices  between  the  ribbing.  As  the  fibres  of  the  bark 
intersect  in  every  imaginable  direction,  it  is  comparatively 
easy  for  the 
operator  to 
reduce  it  to  a 
very  soft  and 
delicate  tex- 
ture. Skill  is 
required  to 
prevent  holes 
being  punched 
through.  A 
good  bark- 
cloth  in  1894 
used  to  cost 
250  shells,  that 
is,  about  2S., 
but  the  value  bark-cloth  manufacture. 

now  is  over  4s. 

A  black-patterned  one  was  recently  sold  at  Kampala  for  £1. 
The  Waganda  ladies  rather  like  the  noisy  rustle  which  heralds 
their  approach  when  the  bark-cloth  is  new  and  stiff ;  in  this 
they  resemble  their  European  sisters  who  appreciate  the  "  frou- 
frou "  of  silk  clothing. 

"  Muenge "  is  the  native  fermented  drink,  made  from  the 
juice  of  the  banana.  It  is  brought  to  the  market  in  large  gourds, 
suggestive  of  the  public  appreciation  of  it.  The  gourds  rest  on 
the  ground  on  a  pad  of  dry  banana-leaves,  and  often  have  a 
wreath  of  leaves  round  the  neck  to  keep  the  fermenting  liquor 
cool.  The  sellers  squat  by  the  side  of  their  gourds,  hold  up  small 
drinking  bowls,  and  invite  the  thirsty  passer-by  to  have  a  "  nip  " 
at  a  ha'penny  or  farthing  per  bowl. 

Some  of  these  small  drinking  bowls,  made  out  of  a  tiny 
species  of  gourd,  look  uncommonly  like  tumblers  or  cups.  As 
they  are  not  flat-bottomed,  they  stand  insecurely,  and  con- 
sequently if  used  for  drinking  out  of,  they  have  to  be  emptied. 
On  the  eve  of  my  departure  from  Kampala,  the  Kangao  made 
me  a  present  of  a  pair  of  gourd-bowls  of  exquisitely  delicate 
manufacture,  which  would  rival  the  finest  china.    On  arrival  in 

G 


98 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


England  my  wife  saw,  admired,  and  annexed  them  ;  and  now 
they  are  enthroned  amongst  her  sacred  knick-knacks  ! 

Personally  I  do  not  care  for  "  muenge."  I  dislike  its  sour 
taste  and  smell,  though  some  Europeans  rather  like  it. 

"  Mbisi  "  is  the  fresh  unfermented  banana  juice.  My  Wahima 
boy  frequently  prepared  this  beverage  for  me.  It  resembles 
water  with  a  flavour  of  bananas  and  sweetened,  and  yet  no 
water  has  been  added.  He  prepared  it  very  easily.  Soft  ripe 
bananas  were  peeled  and  placed  in  an  earthen  bowl  together 
with  a  handful  of  the  long,  lance-shaped,  and  sharp-edged  leaves 


WAGANDA  SOAT-SELI-ERS. 

of  a  very  common  kind  of  grass.  The  mass  was  crushed  and 
kneaded  with  the  fingers,  till  the  banana  pulp  was  reduced  to  a 
sort  of  water.  The  grass  was  then  removed,  the  juice  strained 
off,  and  the  "  mbisi "  was  ready  for  use.  It  is  a  pleasant,  refresh- 
ing drink.  If  allowed  to  stand  for  a  couple  of  days,  it  ferments 
and  becomes  the  intoxicating  "  muenge."  I  met  some  mission- 
aries in  Xyassa-land,  who  made  a  drink  like  champagne  from 
the  juice  of  the  banana.  The  trouble  was  to  keep  this  banana 
champagne  from  bursting  the  bottles.  The  Waganda  often 
add  a  handful  of  "matama"  (Kaffre-corn)  to  their  "  mbisi "  to 
accelerate  the  process  of  fermentation. 

Native  soap  can  be  bought  at  Kampala  on  every  market-day. 
It  is  very  coarse,  and  in  size  resembles  somewhat  a  cricket-ball, 


THE  WAGANDA 


99 


but  it  is  lumpy.  It  is  not  suitable  for  toilet  use,  but  does  very 
well  for  laundry-work,  though  some  say  that  it  wears  out  the 
clothes  more  rapidly  than  English  soap.  That  it  can  wash  beau- 
tifully clean,  is  proved  by  the  spotless  white  clothes- worn  by  all 
the  higher  class  of  natives.  It  is  fairly  cheap,  25  shells  per  ball, 
that  is,  about  twopence.   The  natives  are  aware  of  the  superiority 


WAGANDA  POTTERS. 


of  the  imported  English  soap,  and  would  prefer  to  buy  it,  but  that 
it  is  so  very  dear.  The  difficulty  in  the  way  of  local  soap-boiling 
is  the  scarcity  of  obtainable  tallow  or  fat  of  any  description. 

Pottery  in  Uganda  is  still  in  its  infancy.  The  three  articles 
most  commonly  manufactured  are  the  large  open-mouthed  bowls, 
used  for  cooking  the  native  dish  "  matoke,"  the  bomb-shaped 
pots  for  fetching  water,  and  the  black  pipe-bowls.  The  vessel 
used  for  water  is  round  like  an  ancient  cannon-ball ;  it  has  a  small 
aperture  and  a  very  short  neck.  The  large  semicircular  bowl 
has  a  thick  everted  rim.  In  addition  to  the  common  clay  which 
yields  the  ordinary  brick-red  pottery,  black  clay  and  white  clay 
are  found.  From  these  the  finest  china  could  be  manufactured, 
if  some  one  who  knows  the  process  would  start  a  local  china- 
factory.    The  Waganda  are  clever  at  imitating  any  cup  or  saucer, 


ioo  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


candlestick  or  flower-vase,  which  a  European  chooses  to  submit 
to  them  as  a  model.  These  imitations  are  curious  ;  but  it  would 
be  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  they  are  in  common  use  in  Uganda 
either  among  natives  or  among  Europeans.  There  is  a  potters' 
settlement  about  half-an-hour's  distance  from  Fort  Kampala. 
Here  I  have  watched  the  men  at  work.  They  did  not  use  a 
potter's  wheel.  The  vessel,  resting  on  a  soft  pad  of  dry  banana- 
leaves,  was  turned  and  shaped  by  hand.  A  sharp  sherd  was  used 
to  scrape  off  any  superfluous  clay.  The  rim  of  the  large  bowls 
was  added  separately  in  the  shape  of  a  long  clay  sausage.  I  saw 
only  men  employed  as  potters.  They  must  have  a  deft  hand,  a 
quick  eye,  and  considerable  practice  to  turn  out  such  good 
results  without  the  assistance  of  even  a  potter's  wheel.  The 
bomb-shaped  water-vessel  costs  about  two  or  three  pence  ;  the 
large  bowls  are  somewhat  dearer.  The  pots  are  dried  in  the 
shade,  and  then  burnt  in  a  huge  fire  of  elephant-grass  and 
reeds.  Very  often  this  burning  takes  place  right  in  the  middle 
of  the  wide  public  road.  The  Waganda,  like  other  African 
races,  have  their  own  special  national  variety  of  pipe.  Men 
and  women  smoke.  The  Uganda  clay-pipe  has  a  long  reed- 
stem  and  a  short  black  triangular  clay  bowl  running  into  a 
point  downwards.  It  costs  about  a  farthing.  Occasionally  pipes 
with  coloured  geometrical  patterns  in  white  and  red  are  brought 
as  curios  for  sale  to  Europeans  ;  but  I  have  never  seen  a 
native  smoke  one  of  these  coloured  fancy  pipes.  "  Gabunga," 
the  admiral  in  command  of  the  king's  fleet  of  war-canoes, 
came  to  me  one  day  with  two  of  these  fancy-pipes  which  he 
wished  to  exchange  for  a  short  English  pipe.  Having  effected 
the  exchange,  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  The  chiefs  eagerly 
copy  many  of  the  little  differences  in  habits  which  they  notice 
between  themselves  and  the  English.  In  their  heart,  however, 
not  a  few  of  them  resent  having  lost,  owing  to  the  presence  of 
the  British  Government,  their  former  uncontrolled  authority. 

One  of  the  great  chiefs,  the  Mulondo,  told  me  that  he  had 
lost  all  control  over  his  peasants,  because  he  could  no  longer 
inflict  punishments  on  them  just  as  he  pleased ;  and  if  he  tried 
to  insist  on  their  doing  a  certain  work  for  him,  they  simply 
left  and  migrated  in  a  body  to  the  plantations  of  some  other 
chief.  The  Mulondo  was  not  averse  to  doing  a  little  "  busi- 
ness" now  and  then,  and  selling  to  me,  with  protestations  of 
friendship,  some  antelope  skin  at  exactly  double  the  price  I  would 


THE  WAGANDA 


101 


have  had  to  pay  for  it  elsewhere.  He  is  dead  now — died  two  years 
ago.  A  tall,  handsome  man  he  was,  cunning,  plausible,  but  in 
his  heart  against  British  rule  in  Uganda.  One  day  he  visited  me 
accompanied  by  the  usual  crowd  of  sub-chiefs  and  followers. 
He  sat  on  an  English  camp-chair,  puffing  at  an  English  pipe,  and 
he  wore  an  English  jacket  ;  and  it  seemed  odd  to  hear  him 
glorifying  those  days  of  King  Mtesa,  when  the  European  was  still 
an  unknown  stranger  in  Uganda.  It  would  certainly  have  been 
better  for  him  to  have  treated  Europeans,  or  at  least  European 
inventions,  with  greater  circumspection.    One  day  he  wanted  to 


UPPER-CLASS  WAGANDA. 

shoot  a  big  elephant.  Powder  is  cheap,  ivory  dear.  He  jammed 
an  elephant-gun  half  full  of  powder,  rammed  down  a  big  bullet, 
and  blazed  off.  I  did  not  hear  what  fraction  exactly  of  his  arm 
was  left.  A  missionary  in  Usoga  sent  an  urgent  message  to 
Luba's  for  some  one  to  come  and  tie  up  the  artery,  but  in  the 
meantime  the  Mulondo  bled  to  death. 

The  king,  chiefs,  and  upper-class  Waganda  have  long  ago 
discarded  bark-cloth.  They  prefer  to  wear  white  or  coloured 
cotton-cloth,  either  wrapped  round  the  body  in  the  same 
fashion  that  bark-cloth  is  worn,  or  else  as  a  kanzu,  the  long 
white  garment  worn  by  Swahilies  in  Zanzibar  and  at  Mombasa. 
When  clean  and  white  the  kanzu  is  most  becoming  in  a  native. 


102 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Mohammedans  like  to  superadd  an  unbuttoned  waistcoat  with 
crescent-shaped  pockets  and  richly  embroidered  with  silk,  silver, 
or  gold.  Christians  eschew  the  crescent-emblem  of  Islam  faith, 
but  are  keen  competitors  for  any  old  English  waistcoat.  Those 
who  can  afford  it,  add  to  their  costume  an  English  jacket,  worn 
unbuttoned  ;  in  preference  they  select  one  of  a  plain  dark 
material  or  of  a  light  neat  summer  pattern.  The  Waganda  have 
remarkably  good  taste,  and  wear  nothing  which  the  most  fasti- 
dious European  could  call  vulgar,  either  in  colour  or  design. 
Another  common  form  of  dress  is  a  short-sleeved,  open-necked, 
thin  white  vest,  and  a  coloured  cloth  wrapped  round  the  waist 
and  reaching  below  the  knees. 

The  Waganda  have  not  yet  disfigured  themselves  by  putting 
on  European  unmentionables,  but  I  am  afraid  this  is  merely  a 
matter  of  time.  I  have  seen  on  certain  grand  occasions  the 
Protestant  Prime  Minister  sport  a  jacket  which  no  doubt  was 
meant  to  be  very  effective,  swagger,  and  military,  but  goodness 
knows  what  "  blend"  of  regiments  it  was  supposed  to  represent. 
Mohammedans  wear  a  red  fez-cap  or  a  strip  of  cloth  twisted 
round  the  head  like  a  turban.  The  higher  classes  of  every  creed 
have  adopted  this  fashion.  Some  show  themselves  already  in 
English  travelling-caps.  Apollo  Katikiro,  the  Protestant  Prime 
Minister,  wanting  no  doubt  to  "  go  one  better,"  has  appeared  in 
public  in  a  soft  felt  hat  or  an  imitation  straw  hat,  the  latter  of 
native  manufacture.  He  has  not  yet  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
refined  and  aristocratic  silk  hat.  But  hatters  need  not  despair  ; 
there  is  no  saying  what  may  happen  in  Uganda  in  the  future. 

Uganda  enjoys  the  unique  blessing  of  having  two  Prime 
Ministers.  Formerly  there  used  to  be  only  one  ;  but  as  he  was 
converted  to  Protestantism,  the  opposite  faction  clamoured  to 
have  also  a  Prime  Minister,  and  have  got  him  now,  and  he  ranks 
next  to  the  Protestant  one.  Mugwanya,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Prime  Minister  of  Uganda,  is  a  fine-looking  man,  tall  and  pro- 
portionately broad.  He  usually  dresses  in  white.  He  and  all 
the  great  chiefs  wear  the  sandals  distinctive  of  their  rank. 
These  sandals  are  of  bullock-hide  and  somewhat  of  an  oblong 
saucer-shape.  A  strip  of  otter  skin  passes  across  the  sandal 
and  keeps  it  to  the  foot  ;  a  further  support  is  gained  by  a  strip 
of  otter  skin  which  forms  a  loop  through  which  the  great  toe 
is  passed. 

When  King  Mwanga  rebelled  against  the  Government,  his 


THE  WAGANDA 


infant  son  Chua,  about  two  years  old,  was  proclaimed  king  of 
Uganda  and  a  council  of  regency  was  formed  consisting  of 
Apollo  Katikiro,  Mugwanya,  and  Zacharias  Kangao.  For  though 
some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  chiefs  joined  King  Mwanga, 
Mugwanya  remained  loyal  to  the  British  rule.  All  the  great 
chiefs  live  in  houses  which  have  an  upper  story,  because  King 
Mwanga  one  clay  issued  a  royal  decree,  that  they  were  in 


MUGWANYA,  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  PRIME  MINISTER  OF  UGANDA. 

future  to  dwell  in  such  houses  and  forthwith  were  to  build 
them.  Those  who  did  not  have  the  house  ready  by  a  certain 
date  were  heavily  fined,  the  king  of  course  pocketing  the  fine. 

The  "  Kimbugwe,"  or  "  keeper  of  the  royal  umbilical  cord," 
was  one  of  the  great  chiefs,  but  the  ridiculous  title  has  for- 
tunately been  suppressed,  in  the  same  way  that,  instead  of 
acknowledging  thirty  degrees  of  nobility,  the  Government  have 
simplified  the  matter  by  acknowledging  only  the  first  four 
degrees  as  having  a  right  to  seats  in  the  Great  Council  or  legisla- 
tive assembly  of  the  nation.  The  Kimbugwe  became  the  Kakun- 
guru.  He  aspired  to  intermarry  with  royalty  and  married  the 
sister  of  King  Mwanga,  for  which  the  king  made  him  pay  extra 


io4  UNDER  THE   AFRICAN  SUN 


heavy.  The  lady  was  under  a  cloud.  It  appears  that  some  time 
previously  she  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  some  one,  and  that 
she  employed  a  comely  young  handmaid  to  carry  her  amatory 
messages.  What  Shakespeare  described  hundreds  of  years  ago 
in  "Twelfth  Night"  as  happening  when  Viola  was  sent  to 
Olivia,  happened  in  this  case.  The  infuriated  Princess  wreaked 
a  cruel  vengeance  on  her  handmaid. 

I  was  invited  to  the  Kakunguru's  wedding.  Both  he  and  the 
Princess  are  stately  figures  of  noble  bearing.    There  was  great 

feasting  and 
merry  -  mak- 
ing. Drums 
and  pipes 
were  playing, 
oxen,  sheep, 
and  goats  had 
been  slaugh- 
tered to  pro- 
vide for  the 
multitude  of 
guests.  The 
expense  must 
have  been  en- 
ormous. Some 
of  the  mis- 
sionaries were 
present,  and 
in  accordance 
with  native 
courtesy  their 
plates  were 
loaded  to  an 

extent  that  a  score  of  hungry  men  could  not  have  devoured. 
Native  etiquette  makes  it  obligatory  to  eat  the  whole  of  the 
enormous  helping  ;  but  it  fortunately  provides  also  for  over- 
coming the  difficulty  by  permitting  mouthfuls  being  distributed 
to  followers.  One  missionary  silently  but  rapidly  emptied  his 
plate  by  feeding  loyal  but  hungry  converts. 

The  most  common  musical  instruments  are  the  drum  and 
the  pipe.  The  pipe  is  cut  either  from  a  reed  or  from  the  slender 
stem  of  a  bamboo.    The  upper  end  is  notched,  and  becomes  the 


WAG  AN  DA  MUSICIANS. 


THE  WAGANDA 


mouthpiece.  There  are  four  circular  holes  placed  in  a  row 
along  the  lower  half  of  the  pipe.  The  tune  is  an  endless  repe- 
tition of  the  same  few  notes.  The  drum  is  carved  out  of  a 
hollow  cylinder  of  wood  ;  both  ends  are  covered  with  leather 
fastened  together  with  twisted  strips  of  hide.  It  is  carried  slung 
from  the  neck  by  means  of  a  leather  strap.  It  is  most  commonly 
beaten  with  the  fingers,  but  if  the  drum  is  very  large,  drum- 
sticks are  used. 

There  is  another  musical  instrument,  the  Uganda  harp  ;  but 
I  have  only  once  seen  it  played  in  public.  It  was  at  the  Christ- 
mas festivities  last  year  at  Masindi  in  Unyoro,  when  one  of  our 
Waganda  allies  produced  it  and  played  on  it.  It  was  a  very 
poor  performance,  the  fault  of  the  player  I  should  say,  and  not 
of  the  instrument.  A  good  many  of  these  harps  are  sold  to 
the  ever  eager  curio-collector.  The  wooden  bowl  is  somewhat 
similar  to  the  Kavirondo  harp,  but  the  sound-aperture  is  nearer 
the  middle.  There  is  only  one  wooden  stick  fastened  to  the 
bowl,  instead  of  two  as  in  the  Kavirondo  harp.  This  stick 
curves  upward,  and  carries  eight  pegs,  to  which  the  eight  strings 
are  fastened.  By  screwing  up  the  peg,  the  cord  can  be  tightened 
as  required. 

In  the  punitive  expedition  against  the  Wakitosh,  the  Kakun- 
guru  was  the  general  of  the  Waganda  army  which  numbered 
over  6000.  His  wife,  the  princess,  accompanied  him  to  the  war, 
and  marched  along  on  foot  through  fair  weather  and  foul  ;  she 
was  accompanied  by  a  large  following  of  female  servants. 

There  used  to  be  at  Kampala  a  "  jinrikshaw,"  sent  up  on 
spec,  by  some  English  firm  at  the  Coast.  No  one  wanted  to 
buy  it,  so  it  lay  for  a  long  time  in  the  Government  store.  One 
day  the  Kakunguru  and  the  Katikiro  came  to  enquire  about  it.  I 
happened  to  be  in  charge  of  the  .Fort,  and  I  referred  the  matter 
to  the  Acting  Commissioner  who  sent  back  word  respecting  the 
minimum  price  that  the  firm  had  fixed  for  the  sale  of  the  vehicle. 
Day  after  day  these  two  chiefs  came  and  examined  the  jinrik- 
shaw, pulling  it  about  the  courtyard  of  the  Fort.  One  day  the 
Kakunguru  decided  finally  to  buy  it  and  accepted  the  price 
mentioned  by  the  Acting  Commissioner.  He  and  the  Katikiro, 
both  of  them  heavy  men,  thereupon  got  into  the  jinrikshaw, 
some  scores  of  men  pulled  in  front  and  pushed  behind,  and  on 
throwing  the  gates  of  the  Fort  open  for  them  to  pass,  they 
dashed  away  down  Kampala  hill  full  tilt.    I  said  to  myself,  I 


io6 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


wonder  how  long  any  vehicle  would  stand  such  treatment, 
but  I  did  not  expect  the  catastrophe  to  come  so  soon.  Within 
half-an-hour  one  man  came  to  the  Fort  carrying  the  shafts 
of  the  jinrikshaw,  another  the  wheels,  and  so  on,  a  mass  of 
splintered  wood.  Then  the  Kakunguru  arrived  and  solemnly 
informed  me  that  he  had  decided  not  to  buy  the  jinrikshaw.  I 
told  him  the  matter  rested  with  the  Commissioner  and  not  with 
me,  but  I  refused  to  allow  him  to  leave  the  broken  rubbish  at 
the  Fort.  At  the  same  time  I  told  him,  that  as  he  had  examined 
it  day  after  day,  had  agreed  to  buy  it,  and  had  taken  it  away, 


he  had  it  ready,  and  was  only  "  trying  it  on."  Finally  he  paid 
up,  but  the  trouble  he  gave  me  has  served  me  for  a  lesson. 
At  that  time  Government  courteously  permitted  chiefs  to  pur- 
chase various  articles  out  of  the  Government  store.  All  this 
was,  of  course,  stopped  as  soon  as  European  firms  sent  up  their 
representatives  to  Kampala  and  opened  stores. 

On  the  march  through  Singo  I  came  upon  another  form  of 
drum  besides  the  one  already  described.  It  consisted  of  a  sort 
of  pedestal,  or  cylinder  of  wood,  with  a  piece  of  lizard-skin 


UGANDA  HARP. 


I  felt  pretty  certain  he 
would  have  to  pay  for 
it,  especially  as  it  was 
now  smashed  to  pieces. 
When  I  had  received 
instructions  to  insist 
on  the  payment,  I 
found  the  Kakunguru, 
although  a  wealthy 
man,  very  slippery  to 
deal  with.  First  he 
professed  he  had  no 
ivory,  and  requested 
time  to  send  men  to 
shoot  an  elephant  ; 
this  being  refused,  he 
pleaded  for  time,  two 
to  three  months,  to 
send  round  to  all  his 
friends  to  beg  them 
to  lend  him  some 
ivory.     All  this  time 


THE  WAGANDA 


107 


stretched  over  the  top  of  it.  A  small  boy  carried  it  under  his 
left  arm,  but  it  was  supported  by  a  strap  of  leather  passed  over 
the  shoulders. 

The  Waganda  like  to  do  their  work  to  the  sound  of  drums 
and  in  company  with  others.  In  this  way  they  work  ever  so 
much  better  and  quicker.  On  the  march  through  Singo  we  had 
an  illustration  of  it.  The  courteous  sub-chief,  where  we  had 
camped,  sent  word  over-night  to  all  the  villages  around,  that 
men  were  wanted  to  construct  a  bridge  next  morning  across  a 
very  long  and  dangerous 
swamp  which  we  had 
to  pass  over.  Crowds 
of  villagers  came,  and  I 
learned  something  new, 
when  I  saw  how  they 
proceeded  to  form  a 
bridge.  They  cut  a 
wide  path  right  through 
the  papyrus  which  was 
standing  6  to  10  feet 
high  above  the  surface 
of  the  water.  The  stems 
of  the  papyrus  were  cut 
off  close  to  the  water, 
and  thrown  in  inter- 
lacing masses  upon  the 
stumps  of  the  papyrus 
plants.  The  advantage 
of  selecting  the  thickest 
and  densest  papyrus  growth  was  obvious,  since  the  papyrus 
plants  had  there  the  strongest  hold  on  the  bottom  of  the 
swamp  and  thus  offered  a  firmer  support  to  the  superimposed 
weight.  Another  reason  was  that  a  greater  quantity  of  papyrus 
stems  could  be  cut  for  constructing  the  foot-bridge,  and  there 
was  less  chance  of  coming  upon  open  patches  of  water  too  wide 
to  be  spanned.  Across  this  novel  form  of  bridge  the  whole  of 
my  caravan  passed,  practically  dry-foot ;  and  there  I  came 
upon  the  drummers,  two  little  lads,  banging  away  without 
intermission  on  their  small  drums.  A  man  was  sitting  by  and 
preparing  out  of  split  papyrus  reeds  a  tiny  fish-basket  for 
capturing  the  small  fish  found  in  these  swamps. 


io8  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Waganda  labourers  are  frequently  seen  carrying  some  chopper 
or  axe.  The  native  chopper  is  a  broad-bladed  knife,  stuck  into 
the  thick  end  of  a  club-shaped  handle.  It  is  an  excellent  instru- 
ment for  clearing  fields  of  reeds,  shrubs,  and  bushes.  It  is  not 
as  useful  for  chopping  hard  wood  as  the  native  axe  which  is 
fixed  to  a  similar  club-shaped  handle,  but  at  right  angles  to 
the  handle.    The  blade  of  the  native  axe  is  very  small,  and  yet 


WAGANDA  LABOURERS. 


it  can  fell  the  strongest  and  thickest  trees.  Another  common 
instrument  is  a  small  spear-shaped  iron  jammed  on  to  a  stick  ; 
it  is  used  for  digging  holes  for  the  poles  of  fences  and  stockades. 

A  favourite  way  with  the  native  labourers  of  carrying  their 
pipe  is  to  pass  it  through  the  shoulder-knot  of  their  bark-cloth 
garment. 

The  Uganda  shield  is  cut  out  of  a  solid  block  of  wood, 
though  its  appearance  conveys  the  impression  that  it  consists 
of  two  halves  formed  by  two  symmetrical  segments  of  circles, 
meeting  at  an  angle  of  120°,  and  joined  together  along  their  arc' 
The  central  conical  boss  of  wood  is  left  uncovered,  but  the  rest 
of  the  shield  is  covered  by  coloured  strips  of  twisted  hide. 


THE  WAGANDA 


109 


These  shields  appear  to  be  exclusively  manufactured  for  the 
European  curio-hunter,  for  I  have  never  seen  a  single  one  used 
in  warfare,  though  we  had  thousands  of  armed  Waganda  in  the 
Wakitosh  and  Wakilelowa  expeditions.  Such  of  our  allies  as 
did  carry  shields  preferred  to  use  either  the  Usoga  wicker-shield 
or  the  Kavirondo  one  of  bullock-hide.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  Uganda  shield,  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  is 
superior;  and  when  new  it  makes  a  handsome  wall-ornament. 

The  kingdom  of  Uganda  had  already  in  King  Mtesa's  days 
some  form  of  constitutional  government ;  but  as  there  was  no 
written  language  in  existence  to  record  legislative  enactments,  it 
is  obvious  that  an  autocratic  tyrant  could  easily  over-ride  any 
restrictions  placed  on  his  authority.  Death  and  mutilation  were 
punishments  the  king  could  inflict  at  pleasure.  Human  life 
was  of  little  account. 

When  I  was  in  charge  of  Kampala,  Mwanga  was  king  of 
Uganda.  One  of  the  missionaries  told  me,  that  before  the 
British  occupation  of  Uganda  King  Mwanga  one  day  put  to 
death  over  twenty  of  his  gate-keepers  under  the  following 
circumstances.  A  guest,  leaving  the  royal  enclosure  on  Mengo 
hill,  was  pushed  by  one  of  the  gate-keepers,  and  at  once 
returned  and  complained  of  it  to  the  king  who  thereupon 
ordered  not  only  the  particular  gate-keeper,  but  all  the  gate- 
keepers to  be  put  to  death.  Mwanga  had  learnt  his  despotic 
creed  from  his  father,  King  Mtesa. 

Reading  the  story  of  Speke  in  my  younger  days,  where  he 
intercedes  with  the  king  for  the  life  of  a  woman,  the  picture 
which  represented  the  scene  made  a  lasting  impression  on 
me.  King  Mtesa  gave  a  sort  of  picnic  to  Speke,  and  when  his 
favourite  wife  plucked  some  fruit  and  presumed  to  offer  it  to 
her  lord  and  master,  the  king  ordered  her  to  be  put  to  death. 
The  king's  executioners  were  a  number  of  small  boys  who 
wore  a  rope  twisted  round  the  head.  At  a  sign  from  the 
king  they  used  this  rope  to  strangle  their  victim.  The  unfor- 
tunate woman  called  out  for  help,  and  Speke,  horror-struck, 
pleaded  for  her  life.  The  king,  amused  that  a  white  man  should 
care  for  a  black  woman's  life,  gave  her  on  the  spot  a  present 
to  him. 

Since  then  Mtesa  has  passed  away,  and  all  his  blood- 
thirsty brood  of  sons  are  gone  ;  but  Mtesa's  tomb  still  stands. 
It  is  on  the  top  of  a  hill  about  twenty  minutes  from  Fort 


no  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Kampala.  The  tomb,  a  cone-shaped  building,  is  of  considerable 
height.  The  grass-thatched  roof  nearly  touches  the  ground, 
except  at  the  entrance,  where  a  narrow  verandah  is  formed.  A 
large  number  of  props  and  pillars  support  the  roof.  From  the 
entrance  a  colonnade,  about  six  feet  wide,  leads  to  Mtesa's 
grave  at  the  farther  end.  The  pillars  which  support  the  lofty 
roof  are  the  straight  stems  of  the  makindo  or  wild  date-palm. 
All  the  pillars  near  the  grave  are  covered  with  bark-cloth.  The 


MTESA'S  lOMH. 


interior  of  the  hut  is  strewn  with  soft  grass  laid  down  parallel 
with  almost  mathematical  precision.  It  gives  one  the  idea  of 
walking  on  a  thick  carpet  instead  of  simply  on  loose  grass. 
The  grass  is  piled  so  thick  that  every  footfall  is  deadened. 
Gloom  and  silence  guard  the  grave  of  the  blood-stained  tyrant. 
Brass  spears  rail  it  off  in  front,  a  chequered  cloth  with  alternate 
blue  and  white  squares  screens  it  behind,  and  on  each  side 
hangs  a  brass  shield,  of  which  the  left-hand  one  has  a  lot  of 
tiny  brass-bells  along  the  lower  edge.  In  the  centre  of  the  row 
of  spears  is  a  curious  piece  of  brass  of  fantastic  native  design. 
A  square  mound  of  hard  dry  clay  a  foot  high  is  raised  over  the 
spot  where  Mtesa  lies  buried.  In  walking  up  to  the  railing  my 
foot  naturally  displaced  a  few  blades  of  the  dry  grass.    At  once 


THE  WAGANDA 


1 1 1 


an  attendant  hurriedly  restored  them  to  mathematical  order. 
The  tomb  is  surrounded  in  a  wide  semicircle  by  a  number  of 
huts,  erected  for  the  use  of  Mtesa's  widows  who  were  constituted 
keepers  of  the  tomb.  Some  royal  estates  were  set  aside  to  supply 
them  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  There  cannot  be  many  of 
them  living  at  the  present  day.  I  was  introduced  to  one  ;  she 
had  a  pleasant  face,  and  the  wool  on  her  head  was  quite  white. 

Now  and  then  one  is  reminded  of  something  analogous  in 
the  Uganda  of  the  present  day  and  England  in  an  early  stage  of 
its  development.  The  peasants  were  serfs,  practically  slaves  ; 
Colonel  Colville,  by  the  simple  declaration  that  the  status  of 
slavery  is  not  acknowledged  in  Uganda,  abolished  slavery  and  all 
its  evils.  Of  course  one  knows  that  every  Soudanese  household 
has  a  number  of  slaves,  and  should  any  of  these  complain  of  ill- 
treatment  or  express  a  desire  to  leave  their  master  or  mistress, 
practical  effect 
is  given  to  the 
Colonel's,  now 
historic,  decla- 
ration. On  the 
other  hand, 
there  is  no  un- 
called for  in- 
terference with 
any  man's 
household. 

The  royal 
family  of 
Uganda  is  of 
Wahima  blood. 
According  to 
tradition,  the 
Wahima  are 
the  aborigines 

of  Uganda  ;  but  when  they  were  conquered  and  deprived 
of  their  wealth  which  consisted  of  vast  herds  of  cattle,  they 
voluntarily  offered  to  serve  their  new  masters  as  herdsmen. 
The  Wahima  are  a  fine  race,  what  I  saw  of  them ;  above 
the  average  height,  with  an  intelligent  oval  face  and  only 
slightly  flattened  nose.  To  see  them  at  their  best  the  traveller 
should  see  them  at  work  on  their  pasture  -  lands.     I  came 


IN  A  WAHIMA  KRAAL. 


ii2  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


across  them  in  Singo.  None  of  them  wore  the  bark-cloth 
garment  of  the  Waganda.  Some  had  on  a  cotton  cloth 
thrown  like  a  mantle  over  the  upper  part  of  the  body.  It 
left  the  arms  free  and  reached  as  far  as  the  knees.  But  more 
often  the  covering  was  a  cow-hide  knotted  over  one  shoulder. 
The  men  carried  spears,  apparently  their  only  weapon.  This 
spear  differs  from  the  Uganda  spear  in  having  a  shorter 
blade  and  a  shorter  shaft.  The  married  women  looked  ghastly 
scarecrows,  the  way  they  had  got  themselves  up.  They  wore  a 
good  many  bead,  iron,  and  brass  ornaments.  Into  their  short 
woolly  hair  they  had  plaited  all  sorts  of  trinkets,  coloured  beads, 
shells,  seeds,  and  bits  of  wood.  The  head  and  body  were 
dripping  with  rancid  butter,  and  the  cloth  or  skin  they  wore  was 
one  mass  of  dirt  and  grease.  They  were  so  completely  covered 
up,  that  only  the  head  was  left  visible.  Most  of  the  girls  in 
the  kraal  were  naked,  but  not  the  least  bit  shy  of  the  white 
stranger.  They  seemed  a  merry,  healthy,  well-formed  lot ; 
but  there  was  not  one  amongst  them  that  could  have  been 
called  good-looking.  They  crowded  round  me  to  have  a 
good  look  at  me ;  perhaps  I  was  the  first  white  man  they 
had  ever  seen. 

As  the  Wahima  are  herdsmen,  they  are  nomadic.  This  pro- 
bably accounts  for  the  miserable  structures  they  had  erected 
to  serve  as  temporary  huts.  Out  and  out  it  was  the  humblest 
attempt  at  a  dwelling  I  have  yet  seen,  differing  as  much  from  a 
European's  conception  of  a  home  as  the  eagle's  nest  of  a  few 
sticks  from  the  weaver-bird's  elaborate  structure.  The  hut  con- 
sisted of  a  few  bent  twigs  covered  over  with  rubbish,  sticks,  rank 
weeds,  grass,  and  perhaps  a  bullock-hide  spread  out  over  the  top. 
The  entrance  was  so  low,  that  even  the  little  girls  had  to  crawl 
to  get  in  or  out ;  to  see  a  tall  man  crawling  in  was  a  ludicrous 
sight,  reminding  one  of  a  long-legged  spider.  I  did  not  inspect 
the  interior,  for  though  I  was  travel-stained,  there  are  degrees 
and  limits  also  to  the  soiling  of  one's  clothes.  The  village  was 
more  or  less  circular,  but  quite  unprotected  ;  a  proof  that  the 
Wahima  were  not  living  in  fear  of  either  man  or  wild  beast. 
Outside  the  kraal  there  were  two  huge  mounds  of  cow-dung, 
dried  and  caked  by  the  sun  ;  these  seemed  to  be  favourite  places 
of  meeting  of  the  male  population. 

The  cattle  these  men  were  pasturing  were  magnificent  ani- 
mals, the  largest  I  have  seen.    Almost  every  animal  might  have 


THE  WAGANDA 


figured  among  prize-cattle  at  an  English  cattle-show.  A  pecu- 
liarity was  the  enormous  length  and  width  of  the  horns. 
Cattle-farming  in  Uganda,  whether  for  meat  extract,  horn, 
bone-ash,  or  leather,  should  hold  out  lucrative  prospects  to 
European  intelligence  and  enterprise. 

The  calves  were  not  allowed  to  accompany  the  herds  when 
they  went  out  grazing,  but  were  looked  after  by  the  boys  and 
kept  near  the  village.  Wherever  it  was  difficult  for  the  herd  to 
get  to  the  water,  the  streamlet  running  perhaps  in  a  steep  ravine, 
the  herdsmen  had  erected  clay  troughs  and  filled  these  with 
water  by  means  of  their  milking  pails.  At  other  spots  there 
weregreen- 
wood  fires 
burning 
feebly  and 
slowly,  but 
emitting 
dense  vol- 
umes of 
smoke.  The 
cattle  knew 
what  this 
was  meant 
for.  They 
hustled 
each  other 
to  get  into 
the  stream 

of  the  smoke,  where  it  rolled  slowly  and  heavily  over  the 
plain,  in  order  to  escape  the  persecution  of  the  innumerable 
swarms  of  flies  and  stinging  insects. 

There  are  several  species  of  these  flies ;  they  also  attacked 
the  natives.  I  saw  one  of  the  little  girls  slap  her  thigh,  and, 
where  a  fly  had  just  stung  her,  a  big  drop  of  blood  oozed 
out ;  these  troublesome  flies  can  therefore  give  a  very  nasty 
prick,  but  the  child  did  not  seem  to  mind  the  pain.  I  was 
not  stung  on  this  occasion,  but  some  of  my  caravan  were, 
and  they  certainly  did  not  bear  the  infliction  with  the  same 
equanimity.  Sometimes  on  the  march,  especially  in  showery 
weather,  the  flies  become  a  great  nuisance.  I  have  killed 
them,  almost  as  soon  as  they  had  settled  on  my  neck  or 

H 


WAHIMA  HERDSMEN. 


ii4  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


hands,  and  yet  the  smarting  sensation  which  accompanied  the 
sting  would  be  followed  by  a  blain  or  a  boil.  Another  sort  of 
fly  used  to  attack  my  donkey  and  made  it  so  restless,  that  I  had 
to  stop  and  search  for  the  tormentor. 

The  large  herds  of  cattle  I  saw  in  Singo  belonged  originally 
to  King  Mwanga,  but  were  seized  by  the  Government,  when  the 
king  rebelled.  They  are  now  being  taken  care  of  by  Wahima 
herdsmen  for  the  Government. 

In  certain  parts  of  Uganda  a  good  deal  of  sugar-cane  is 
grown,  but  the  natives  do  not  seem  to  know  how  to  utilise  it 
except  for  chewing.  Some  of  the  Arab  traders  now  and  then 
crush  a  small  amount  of  cane  and  boil  down  the  juice  to  a 
treacle,  but  nobody  has  ever  attempted  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  in  Uganda.  I  have  lived  for  many  years  in  the  sugar- 
growing  colony  of  Mauritius  ;  I  know,  therefore,  that  mere  size 
does  not  prove  the  superiority  of  one  species  of  cane  over 
another.  To  judge,  however,  by  the  size  of  the  Uganda 
sugar-cane  which  was  offered  for  sale  to  my  porters  almost  in 
every  village  in  Singo  along  the  caravan  route,  the  production 
must  be  very  cheap.  Canes  over  ten  feet  long  were  sold  for  a 
halfpenny,  shorter  ones  for  a  farthing ;  and,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge,  the  juice  was  extremely  rich  in  sugar.  I  saw  thousands 
of  acres  of  virgin  soil,  suitable  for  sugar  plantations  and  lying 
unclaimed. 

When  Mtesa  died,  there  was  a  struggle  among  his  sons 
for  the  throne  of  Uganda.  They  appear  to  have  had  about 
as  much  affection  for  each  other  as  the  sons  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  Kiwewa  was  king  of  Uganda  for  a  few  weeks, 
when  his  brother  Karema  managed  to  seize  him  and,  tying 
him  to  one  of  the  pillars  inside  one  of  the  Waganda  huts 
of  reeds  and  grass,  put  fire  to  the  structure.  There  was  not 
much  left  of  Kiwewa  at  the  end  of  this  brotherly  bonfire. 
But  Karema  thought  he  might  as  well  clear  off  all  his 
brothers  whilst  he  was  about  it.  All  fell  into  his  hands 
except  Mwanga,  his  youngest  brother,  who  escaped  from 
Uganda  and  found  a  refuge  at  the  south  end  of  Lake  Vic- 
toria Nyanza.  Karema  dug  a  deep  pit,  tied  his  brothers  to 
stakes  in  it,  starved  them  to  death,  and  then  rilled  up  the 
pit.  He  did  not  however  reign  very  long ;  he  was  carried 
off  by  small-pox  on  his  way  to  wage  war  against  Unyoro. 

King  Kiwewa  left  a  son,  the  young  Roman  Catholic  Prince 


THE  WAGANDA 


Augustine  of  Uganda.    King  Karema  left  two  sons,  half-brothers 
to  each  other ;  one  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mohammedans 
and  is  the  young  Mohammedan  Prince  Ramazan  of  Uganda, 
the  other  was  brought  up  by  the  French  missionaries  and  is  the 
young  Roman  Catholic  Prince  Joseph  of  Uganda.    These  two, 
Princes  Augustine  and  Joseph,  are  very  simply  dressed  in  a  long 
white  garment,  known  as  a  "kanzu,"  and  a  red  fez-cap.  They 
wear  a  small  silver  cross  hanging  from  a  silver  chain.    When  I 
saw  them,  Prince  Augustine  happened  to  fold  his  hands,  and 
the  silver  cross 
accidentally  fell  m 
across  them. 
Under  this  em- 
blem     of  the 


day  the  one  or  OF  Uganda. 

the  other  may 

be  called  upon  to  ascend  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  The 
royal  family  of  Uganda  consists  at  present  of  ex-King  Mwanga, 
ex-King  Mbogo,  the  baby-King  Chua,  and  the  Princes  Ramazan, 
Augustine,  and  Joseph.  Mbogo  has  a  child,  the  Princess  Fatima, 
but  as  Salic  law  governs  the  succession,  neither  she  nor  various 
other  princesses  of  the  older  line  have  any  claim  whatever  to  the 
throne. 

On  my  third  journey  to  Uganda  I  was  requested  by  the 
Government  to  take  ex-King  Mbogo  with  his  family  and 
followers  along  with  me  from  Mombasa.  Lugard  in  his 
historical  book  relates  how  the  Mohammedan  party  in  Uganda 
had  proclaimed  Mbogo  king,  and  how  he  managed  to  end 


Christian  faith, 
indistant  Ugan- 
da, the  young 
Princes  have 
buried  the 
family  blood- 
feud.  Though 
cousins,  they 
are  more  like 
brothers  to 
each  other ; 
and  no  one  can 
foretell  what 


THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  PRINCES  AUGUSTINE  AND  JOSEPH 


n6  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  civil  war  by  getting  Mbogo  to  abdicate  in  favour  of 
Mwanga.  To  prevent  a  fresh  outbreak  of  hostilities,  the 
Government  had  removed  Mbogo  to  the  coast.  Here  he 
became  homesick,  and  petitioned  to  be  sent  back  to  Uganda. 
As  there  appeared  to  be  no  reason  to  fear  any  further  trouble 
his  request  was  granted. 

To  take  ex-King  Mbogo  along  with  me  was  easier  said  than 
done,  and  I  had  a  pretty  lively  time  of  it  from  start  to  finish. 
He  had  a  dozen  wives,  and  with  his  followers  he  numbered 
sixty  souls.  The  wants  of  all  had  to  be  anticipated  and  provided 
for.  Then  one  hitch  after  another  arose  and  had  to  be  over- 
come. The  Government  had  fixed  the  number  of  porters  he 
was  to  be  allowed  ;  thereupon  he  informed  me  that  his  followers 
one  and  all  had  refused  to  carry  any  sort  of  load  on  the  journey. 
It  was  no  use  to  try  and  reason  with  him,  that  Government  had 
fixed  the  number  and  was  not  likely  to  treble  it  in  order  to 
gratify  the  laziness  of  his  followers.  Mbogo  was  obstinate  ;  his 
men  were  servants,  he  declared,  not  slaves.  For  a  while  I  did 
not  know  how  to  get  on,  then  an  inspiration  came.  I  told 
Mbogo  that  there  was  no  help  for  it,  but  we  would  have  to 
dismiss  all  his  servants  who  refused  to  work,  and  that  not  one 
of  them  would  be  allowed  to  accompany  my  caravan.  I  asked 
for  a  list  of  the  names,  in  order  that  I  might  stop  at  once  the 
daily  allowance  of  food  issued  to  them  by  the  Government,  and 
compel  them  to  earn  their  food  where  and  how  they  liked.  In 
less  than  half-an-hour  Mbogo  professed  to  have  ascertained  that 
every  one  of  his  followers  was  most  willing  to  carry  a  light 
load,  rather  than  be  left  at  Mombasa  or  have  his  food  allow- 
ance stopped.  Fortunately  Mbogo  did  not  know  that  the 
Government  did  not  want  any  of  his  followers  on  any  account 
to  be  left  behind  at  Mombasa. 

Other  similar  trivial  matters,  and  yet  sufficient  to  prevent 
the  caravan  from  moving,  were  of  constant  occurrence,  but 
by  good  luck  I  managed  to  get  over  them.  The  following 
may  serve  as  an  illustration.  As  we  were  about  to  start  from 
Mombasa,  I  saw  that  a  poor  little  boy  had  been  given  a  weight 
of  over  70  lbs.  to  carry,  and  some  of  Mbogo's  favourites,  big 
strapping  fellows,  had  already  passed  with  trifling  bundles  of 
10  lbs.  weight.  Every  caravan  leader  knows  what  it  means 
when  porters  break  down  on  the  march,  and  here  was  a  boy 
given  by  Mbogo  to  carry  70  lbs.  for  the  next  800  miles.    I  at 


THE  WAGAXDA 


117 


once  stopped  the  caravan,  and  made  each  of  Mbogo's  men 
bring  his  load  to  be  weighed  at  the  Government  store,  and  I 
increased  or  decreased  it  as  experience  dictated.  I  had  no 
further  trouble  on  this  score,  though  it  delayed  the  caravan 
at  the  time  for  a  few  hours. 

Even  with  trained  porters  it  is  not  always  easy  to  keep  the 
men  from  straggling,  but  the  first  few  days  of  the  march 
Mbogo's  women  made  precious  hard  work  for  me.    On  some 


EX-KING  MBOGO,  PRINCESS  FAT  I  MA,  AND  PRINCE  RAMAZAN  OF  UGANDA. 

excuse  or  other  they  would  drop  out  of  the  ranks  ;  and  they 
never  cared  how  far  it  might  be  to  the  next  camp,  but  would 
lie  down  under  the  first  convenient  shady  tree  and  fall  fast 
asleep.  By  the  time  I  had  reached  camp,  I  would  rind  some 
of  these  ladies  missing,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  going  back 
for  them. 

The  day  I  camped  at  Maji  Chumvi,  I  had  a  curious  experience. 
I  passed  Count  Teleki's  camp  on  the  road,  and  stopped  to  have 
a  chat,  while  waiting  for  stragglers.  When  I  did  reach  my 
camp,  I  found  two  of  Mbogo's  wives  missing.     I  went  back 


n8  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


to  look  for  them,  and  had  to  walk  some  miles  beyond  Teleki's 
camp  before  I  found  them  comfortably  asleep  under  a  tree. 
They  declared  they  were  unable  to  move  owing  to  stomach- 
ache. Two  of  my  men  supported  the  one,  myself  and  another 
Askari  supported  the  other  woman.  On  passing  Teleki's  camp 
for  the  third  time,  I  stopped  and  asked  him  for  some  brandy 
to  administer  to  these  women.  I  then  sent  some  men  on  to 
fetch  my  own  riding-donkeys  to  carry  these  women  to  my  camp. 
Teleki,  seeing  how  tired  I  was,  brought  his  camp  bedstead  out, 
and  most  kindly  insisted  on  my  lying  down.  The  moment  I 
did  so,  I  fell  sound  asleep.  The  arrival  of  the  donkeys  woke 
me.  1  tried  to  help  the  two  ladies  to  get  on  the  donkeys,  when 
to  my  surprise  I  found  that  both  were  helplessly  drunk. 

I  naturally  attributed  the  effect  to  the  brandy,  though  it 
seemed  unaccountable  it  should  have  had  such  an  effect.  1 
felt  sorry  that  Teleki  witnessed  their  condition.  One  of  these 
ladies  we  tied  on  to  the  donkey  to  prevent  her  rolling  off,  and 
sent  her  thus  to  Mbogo,  accompanied  by  some  of  his  men  ;  but 
the  second  one  was  too  far  gone.  Two  men  had  to  carry  her, 
whilst  I  walked  by  their  side.  Teleki  tried  hard  to  keep  me 
at  his  camp  for  the  night,  and  very  kindly  offered  to  put  me 
up  ;  but  the  unfortunate  condition  of  these  women  made  it 
doubly  necessary  to  see  them  safe  to  their  husband's  tent. 

Next  day  Count  Teleki  and  I  camped  together  at  Samburu, 
and  the  mystery  of  the  drunken  condition  of  the  two  women  was 
explained.  It  appears  that  whilst  I  slept,  the  two  went  to  Teleki 
and  intimated  that  the  brandy  had  almost  stopped  their  suffering 
but  not  quite.  He  thought  he  might  as  well  repeat  the  dose  ; 
but  every  few  minutes  they  applied  for  another  dose,  till  they 
were  too  drunk  to  come  for  more.  Both  of  them  had  a  splitting 
headache  next  day,  but — mirabile  dictu— they  never  suffered  again 
from  stomach-ache  on  the  journey. 

It  was  on  this  journey  that  I  found  one  of  the  Uganda 
wooden  spears  very  helpful  in  marching  along,  a  sort  of  pilgrim's 
staff.  The  Waganda  double-edged  fighting  spear  has  a  rather 
long  blade,  longitudinally  grooved  on  each  side.  The  wooden 
spear  is  usually  over  six  feet  long  and  terminates  in  a  very  sharp 
point ;  its  other  end  is  tipped  with  iron,  to  stick  the  spear  into 
the  ground  when  not  required.  The  wood  made  use  of  for  the 
manufacture  of  these  spears  is  remarkaby  tough  and  strong,  and 
yet  extremely  light. 


THE  WAGANDA 


119 


Ex-King  Mbogo  and  I  became  fast  friends,  long  before  the 
journey  had  ended ;  and  though  some  years  have  passed,  he 
generally  honours  me  with  a  visit  when  I  go  to  Kampala,  where 
he  is  now  settled  on  Nakasero  hill.  He  behaved  sensibly  and 
well  during  the  Soudanese  mutiny  ;  for  the  mutineers  wrote  to 
him  and  offered  to  make  him  king  of  Uganda.  Mbogo  not  only 
promptly  declined  the  offer,  but  advised  them  in  the  strongest 
terms  to  return  at  once  to  their  allegiance  to  the  British  Govern- 


UGANDA  SPEARS. 


ment.  Had  he  accepted,  the  whole  of  the  Mohammedan  faction 
in  Uganda  would  have  gone  over  to  the  mutineers.  His  stay 
at  Zanzibar  has  no  doubt  considerably  enlarged  his  views 
regarding  the  might  of  the  British  Empire.  He  is  a  strict 
Mohammedan  ;  and  every  Friday  (the  Mohammedan  equivalent 
of  the  Christian's  Sunday)  a  Mohammedan  service  is  held  at  his 
residence,  and  Swahilies,  Arabs,  and  other  Mohammedans  flock 
to  it  in  large  numbers.  He  affects  Mohammedan  dress.  To  his 
native  royal  bearing  he  has  added  some  of  the  Arab  polish 
from  Zanzibar.  He  presents  a  striking  contrast  in  every  respect 
to  the  vile  and  shifty  ex- King  Mwanga. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


AT  KAMPALA. 

TH  E  king  of  Uganda  resides  on  a  hill 
called  "  Mengo,"  and  for  this  reason 
some  call  the  capital  of  Uganda  Mengo. 
Kampala  hill  was  obtained  by  Lugard 
as  a  concession  from  King  Mwanga,  and  upon 
it  he  built  his  famous  fort,  thereby  laying 
the  foundation-stone  of  British  supremacy  in 
Uganda.    The  increased  and  increasing  staff 
of  Government  officials,  the  large  building 
in  which  the  legislative  native  council  hold 
their  "  baraza "  or  parliamentary  proceed- 
ings, the  Soudanese  market,  the  busy  Swahili 
a  native  fish-creel,    settlement,  show  that  Kampala  has  now  ac- 
quired a  wider  sense.    In  the  same  way  that 
London  has  gradually  absorbed  adjoining  districts,  Kampala  has 
absorbed  Nakasero  and  other  hills. 

Kampala,  used  in  the  wider  sense,  is  the  capital  of  Uganda 
and  the  heart  of  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  causing  its  adminis- 
trative influence  to  be  felt  far  and  near. 

In  1894  the  officer  in  command  at  Kampala  had  to  be  in- 
valided to  the  coast,  and  Her  Majesty's  Acting  Commissioner 
selected  me  as  the  temporary  successor,  pending  the  arrival  of 
some  newly-appointed  administrative  officers.  During  the  four 
and  a  half  months  I  held  the  appointment  I  was  absolutely 
single-handed,  and  had  to  perform  all  the  duties  which  now  are 
subdivided  amongst  quite  a  number  of  officers  and  clerks.  I 
had  to  combine  administrative,  military,  and  medical  duties  ;  I 
had  to  act  as  magistrate  and  as  commandant  ;  I  had  charge  of 
the  prison  and  of  the  police ;  I  was  paymaster  and  postmaster ; 
I  was  collector  and  registrar;   I  was  store-keeper  and  book- 


AT  KAMPALA 


121 


keeper ;  in  fact,  I  had  to  carry  on  by  myself  the  whole  of  the 
Government  machinery  at  Kampala,  and  I  had  not  a  single 
clerk,  black  or  white,  to  assist  me.  For  a  fortnight  I  was  under 
my  predecessor,  in  order  to  get  an  insight  into  local  affairs  and 
"  to  learn  the  ropes."  The  day  before  I  left  Port  Alice  to  enter 
upon  my  new  duties  at  Kampala,  I  received  my  final  instruc- 
tions from  Her  Majesty's  Acting  Commissioner.  My  endeavour 
whilst  temporarily  in  office,  I  might  sum  up :  as  upholding 
British  prestige  and  authority,  and  maintaining  friendly  relations 
with  King  Mwanga  and  all  the  great  Waganda  chiefs,  Protestant 
and  Roman  Catholic.    Lugard  and  my  other  predecessors  at 


KAMPALA  SEEN  FROM  NAKASERO  HILL. 


Kampala  have  proved  that  King  Mwanga  and  his  chiefs  were  a 
handful  to  manage,  and  since  I  handed  over  these  administrative 
duties  to  my  successor,  King  Mwanga  and  some  of  the  great 
chiefs  have  rebelled  and  caused  bloodshed. 

The  view  from  Nakasero  hill  shows  Kampala  hill  in  the 
foreground  and  beyond  it  the  saddle-shaped  hill  of  Namirembe. 
The  village  on  Kampala  hill  is  the  Swahili  settlement,  which, 
with  the  Acting  Commissioner's  permission,  I  laid  out.  The 
road,  seen  in  the  illustration  to  lead  up  to  Fort  Kampala,  I 
made,  superintending  its  construction  in  person.  It  has  evi- 
dently supplied  a  want,  for  it  has  since  been  continued  over 
Nakasero  hill,  and  right  on  to  meet  the  great  caravan  road 
from  Kampala  to  the  Nile,  known  as  the  Usoga  Road.    Till  the 


122  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Swahili  settlement  was  laid  out,  with  roads  intersecting  each 
other  at  right  angles,  it  was  a  horribly  filthy  place,  rendered 
dangerously  insanitary  by  Swahili  caravans  camping  there 
temporarily  with  their  Manyema  and  Wanyamwezi  porters  who 
defiled  every  foot  of  ground  around  the  camp.  The  place  was  a 
standing  menace  to  the  community,  and  it  was  with  a  medical 
officer's  eye  that  I  saw  the  urgent  need  of  reform. 

Her  Majesty's  Acting  Commissioner  for  Uganda  at  the  time 
was  Colonel  Colville,  now  Sir  Henry  Colville,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B. 
Holding  the  supreme  authority  in  the  land,  upon  his  yes  or  no 
depended  the  carrying  into  effect  of  every  measure.  He  approved 
of  my  plans,  allowed  me  full  scope  to  work  them  out,  and 
strengthened  my  hands  by  the  weight  of  his  supreme  authority. 

With  his  consent  I  laid  out  the  village,  cutting  straight  wide 
roads,  pulling  down  trumpery  grass-huts  and  tumble-down 
shanties  wherever  their  presence  interfered  with  the  road- 
making,  subdividing  the  land  into  small  holdings,  and  allotting 
these  to  respectable  applicants  at  a  nominal  rent  on  condition 
of  observing  certain  sanitary  rules,  viz.,  erecting  suitable  con- 
structions for  the  sanitary  requirements  of  their  household,  and 
keeping  the  public  road,  as  far  as  their  particular  holding  was 
concerned,  clean  and  free  of  weeds. 

The  village  community,  consisting  principally  of  Arab  and 
Swahili  ivory  traders,  thoroughly  approved  of  these  various  mea- 
sures. The  last  time  I  arrived  at  Kampala  from  the  coast,  quite  a 
number  of  these  traders  came  to  greet  me  and  to  shake  hands. 
It  was  pleasant  to  find  I  was  still  kindly  remembered  by  them, 
though  some  years  had  elapsed  since  the  Colonel's  temporary 
successor  relegated  me  to  my  original  medical  appointment. 

The  ivory  exported  from  Uganda  is  either  elephant  ivory  or 
hippo  ivory,  but  the  latter  is  considerably  cheaper  because  all 
the  tusks  are  comparatively  small,  and  the  finest  and  heaviest 
tusks  of  the  hippopotamus  lose  in  value  because  they  are  curved 
into  a  semicircle.  Even  elephant  ivory  to  be  valuable  must  be 
of  a  size  sufficiently  large  to  allow  of  the  manufacture  of  billiard 
balls.  As  might  be  imagined,  America  is  the  best  market  tor 
ivory.  The  traders  have  several  names  to  designate  the  different 
qualities  ;  the  very  best  is  known  as  "  baboo-uleia,"  and  the 
next  quality  is  "  baboo-ketsh " ;  anything  inferior  is  scarcely 
worth  exporting,  as  the  expense  of  transport  over  800  to  1000 
miles  instead  of  leaving  a  profit  would  probably  entail  a  loss. 


AT  KAMPALA  123 

It  requires  considerable  experience  to  be  a  good  ivory  buyer ; 
I  have  known  what  appeared  to  me  a  fine  and  valuable  tusk  to 
be  pronounced  worthless  owing  to  an  almost  imperceptible 
notch  at  the  very  tip.  This,  I  was  told,  was  a  sure  sign  that  a 
split  existed  right  through  the  very  centre  of  the  tusk.  A 
purchaser  expending  ^100  on  such  a  tusk  might  not  be  able  to 
sell  it  again  for  100  shillings. 

Kampala  is  essentially  a  city  built  on  hills :  Kampala  hill, 
with  Fort  Kampala  on  its  summit,  with  the  various  Government 
offices,  and 
with  the 
Swahili  set- 
tlement on 
one  side  ; 
Mengo  hill, 
with  the  re- 
sidences of 
the  king  of 
Ugandaand 
of  several  of 
the  great 
chiefs ;  Na- 
m  i  r  e  m  b  e 
hill,  with 
the  Protes- 
tant Cathe- 
dral       and  ARAB  AND  SWAHILI  IVORY  TRADERS. 

the  Church 

Mission  Society's  Station  ;  Rubaga  hill,  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral,  and  a  settlement  of  the  French  Algerian 
Mission ;  Nakasero  hill,  with  the  European  traders  and  the 
Soudanese  village  ;  and  on  another  hill  Bishop  Hanlon  has 
erected  an  English  Roman  Catholic  establishment. 

Between  Namirembe  hill  and  Kampala  hill  there  lies  a 
small  plain.  It  is  one  of  the  concessions  secured  by  Lugard. 
There  was  no  direct  road  leading  from  Fort  Kampala  to 
Namirembe  hill.  I  decided  to  construct  one.  It  has  proved 
useful ;  my  road  only  led  across  the  plain  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  but  my  successor  has  continued  it  right  up  as  far  as  the 
shoulder.  The  open  space  between  the  two  hills  I  proposed 
to  utilise  as  a  public  recreation  ground  ;  one  of  the  four  roads 


I24 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


which  delimit  it  exists  from  Lugard's  day,  the  other  three  I 
made.  When  the  arrangements  for  holding  on  it  the  first  sports 
were  nearly  complete,  the  Acting  Commissioner  was  taken 
seriously  ill  and  had  to  be  invalided  to  the  coast.  I  was  ordered 
to  accompany  him,  and  my  administrative  duties  at  Kampala 
ended. 

The  recreation  ground,  however,  still  exists;  and  the  last 
time  I  arrived  at  Kampala  a  vigorous  game  of  football  was 
going  on,  white  men  and  niggers  taking  part  in  it.  I  have 
always  understood  football  to  be  a  game  for  the  younger 
generation.  Cricket  we  know  can  be  played  up  to  mature 
age,  as  proved  by  the  present  cricket-king  in  England.  It 
was,  therefore,  highly  interesting  and  amusing  to  watch  the 
Namirembe  Archdeacon  footing  it  with  the  youngest.  While 
the  Acting  Commissioner,  the  Judge,  and  myself,  were  looking 
on  and  watching  the  game  with  interest,  one  of  the  younger 
officials  got  a  bad  kick  and  sprawled  on  the  ground.  Fortu- 
nately no  bones  were  broken.  He  was  carried  by  sympathising 
friends  to  his  house,  and  for  a  while  he  had  to  give  up  football 
and  also  Government  duty.  A  few  days  later,  I  had  to  attend 
another  who  had  ricked  his  knee  at  football ;  he  too  went  off 
Government  duty  for  some  days.  But  these  little  mishaps  did 
not  deter  the  Namirembe  Venerable  ! 

To  the  right  of  the  recreation  ground,  and  separated  from  it 
by  one  of  the  roads  which  I  constructed  in  1894,  lies  the  native 
market  with  its  half-dozen  huts. 

Another  market,  known  as  the  Soudanese  market,  is  just  at 
the  foot  of  Kampala  hill.  The  white  flour  offered  for  sale  in 
baskets  or  open  grass-platters  looks  very  tempting,  but  when 
used  for  baking  produces  a  dark-brown  crumbly  bread.  This 
white  flour  is  not  wheat-flour,  but  either  mohindi  (maize),  or 
matama  (Kaffre-corn),  or  mohogo  (casava),  or  disi  (banana). 
Banana-flour  is  made  by  peeling  green  plantains,  cutting  them 
lengthways  down  the  middle,  drying  them  in  the  sun,  and 
then  pounding  them  into  flour.  There  does  not  seem  to  be 
very  much  nourishment  in  it. 

The  police  force  at  Kampala  originated  in  1894  during 
my  short  tenure  of  administrative  duty.  A  trivial  incident,  a 
Soudanese  soldier  arresting  a  Wahima  herdsman  for  causing 
disturbance  in  the  native  market,  drew  attention  to  the  fact  of 
there  being  no  special  department  of  police.    I  submitted  to 


AT  KAMPALA 


125 


the  Acting  Commissioner  the  advisability  of  establishing  such 
a  staff  as  a  distinct  and  separate  body.  The  scheme  was 
sanctioned,  and  as  a  preliminary  experiment  the  Colonel 
approved  of  twenty  men  being  appointed.  Some  simple  rules 
were  drawn  up,  the  men  selected,  and  the  police  force  came 
into  existence.  At  first  Soudanese  soldiers  were  chosen  ;  but 
now  Waganda  are  employed,  probably  owing  to  the  mutiny 
and  the  disarming  of  the 
Soudanese  at  Kampala. 
The  present  uniform  is 
white,  with  dark  blue 
putties,  and  a  red  cloth 
turban,  one  end  of  which 
is  allowed  to  hang  down 
the  back.  The  men  are 
armed  with  the  Govern- 
ment rifle,  and  wear  a 
light  brown  leather  cart- 
ridge-belt. They  also  act 
as  prison-warders. 

The  administration  of 
justice  in  Uganda  is  based 
on  the  treaty  with  King 
Mwanga,  under  which  the  Kampala  police. 

British     Government  as- 
sumed the  responsibility  of  a  Protectorate  over  the  kingdom. 
The  African  Order  in  Council  and  the  Brussels  Act  of  Interna- 
tional Law  regarding  sale  of  spirits  or  rifles  to  natives  guide  the 
judicial  decision  in  other  matters. 

One  of  the  latest  improvements  in  administrative  expan- 
sion was  the  appointment  of  a  barrister-at-law,  Mr.  Collinson, 
as  legal  adviser  to.  the  Government.  All  judicial  decisions 
above  a  certain  penalty  have  to  be  submitted  to  the  High 
Court  of  Bombay  ;  and  a  fortiori  no  sentence  of  death  can 
be  carried  out  by  the  Government  without  the  sanction  of  the 
High  Court. 

The  king  of  Uganda  has  his  own  native  court  of  justice  ;  he 
has  no  right  to  try  any  but  his  own  subjects  ;  consequently 
matters  in  connection  with  aliens  of  every  description,  whether 
European,  Swahili,  Soudanese,  Lendu,  Indian,  or  Armenian, 
cannot  be  tried  in  the  king's  native  court.    The  king's  court 


I 


126  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

may,  however,  pass  a  sentence  of  death  upon  Waganda,  and  may 
order  such  sentence  to  be  carried  out  without  reference  to  the 
court  at  Bombay.  Accordingly,  three  Waganda  murderers  were 
hanged  not  very  long  ago.  I  was  not  called  upon  to  be  present 
at  the  execution  to  pronounce  whether  life  was  extinct.  One 
of  the  young  officials  was  entrusted  with  seeing  that  the 
arrangements  at  the  gallows  were  in  order.  He  came  to  me 
and  wanted  me  to  tell  him  where  the  knot  should  be  applied, 


and  what  distance  should  be  allowed  for  the  drop.  As 
I  have  never  been  a  hangman,  and  do  not  aspire  to  such 
an  office,  I  declined  to  discuss  the  subject ;  but  when  I 
was  urged  on  the  plea  of  humanity,  I  reluctantly  told  my 
interrogator,  to  enable  him  to  perform  his  unenviable  work 
expeditiously,  what  I  had  read  or  heard  about  this  gruesome 
subject. 

One  of  the  forms  of  punishment  made  use  of  by  the  Govern- 
ment is  the  u  chain-gang,"  which  means  hard  labour. 


AT  KAMPALA 


127 


The  number  of  convicts  in  a  chain-gang  depends  on  the 
length  of  the  chain.  An  iron  ring  is  placed  round  the  neck 
of  each,  and  the  chain  is  then  passed  through  the  two 
eyelets  of  the  ring.  One  end  of  the  chain  is  secured  by  a 
large  iron  ring,  the  other  end  by  a  padlock.  The  neck-ring 
consists  of  two  separate  halves  which  move  on  a  fixed  pivot  at 
the  back  and  carry  each  an  eyelet  in  front. 

On  my  first  journey  to  Uganda  we  had  a  strange  incident  at 
Kabras  in  connection  with  a  chain-gang.  The  Swahili  in  charge 
of  it  hit  upon  the  plan  of  doing  wholesale  robbery  by  utilising 
his  own  gang  of  prisoners  for  the  job.  Apparently  he  foraged 
pretty  successfully,  judging  by  a  couple  of  fowls,  a  lot  of  sweet- 
potatoes,  some  ground-nuts,  and  other  items  produced.  Our 
caravan  leader  heard  of  it,  stretched  out  the  culprit,  gave  him 
some  lashes,  and  then  added  him  to  the  chain-gang.  The  stolen 
goods  were  confiscated,  and  a  new  warder  was  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  prisoners,  now  increased  in  number  by  the  addition 
of  the  former  warder. 

One  of  the  cases  I  had  to  try  at  Kampala  in  1894  was  a 
curious  repetition  of  Potiphar's  wife  versus  Joseph.  The  lady  in 
question  was  a  princess,  save  the  mark  !  of  the  royal  family  of 
Uganda.  Joseph  was  represented  by  a  headman  named  Musa. 
The  lady  in  this  instance  also  produced  a  garment,  belonging 
to  Musa,  and  she  very  nearly  landed  her  Joseph  in  prison. 
Musa  gave  a  straightforward  account,  and  said  that  a  fishmonger 
was  present  at  the  scene,  of  whom  he  bought  some  fish  which 
he  gave  to  the  princess.  Questioned  about  the  fish,  the  prin- 
cess declared  she  herself  had  bought  it  and  had  handed  it  to 
her  handmaid,  a  slave-attendant,  who  was  prepared  to  swear  to 
anything  her  mistress  had  stated.  Luckily  for  Musa  the  fish- 
monger was  found,  brought  to  the  court,  identified  all  the  parties 
concerned,  and  proved  Joseph's — I  mean  Musa's — story  to  be 
true.  As  this  case  involved  a  princess,  the  Prime  Minister  and 
a  number  of  the  great  Waganda  chiefs  were  present  at  the 
trial  and  concurred  in  the  decision.  I  heard  afterwards  that 
the  princess  was  a  woman  of  extremely  shady  morals. 

A  native  fishmonger  is  a  singular  sight  ;  as  a  rule,  the  fish  he 
offers  for  sale  are  about  the  size  of  small  sardines,  dried  in  the 
sun  and  strung  in  rows.  One  row  costs  a  penny  and  contains 
about  a  dozen  fish. 

In  another  case  I  had  to  try,  one  of  King  Mwanga's  wives 


128  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


was  the  accused.  This  good  lady  coveted  some  trumpery  iron 
ornaments  worn  by  a  Lendu  woman,  and  deeming  herself  safe 
in  her  exalted  position,  she  assaulted  and  robbed  the  Lendu 
woman  on  the  high-road.  Two  Lendu  men  hearing  the  screams 
came  to  the  assistance  of  the  maltreated  woman,  but  were 
set  upon  by  a  number  of  Waganda  and  badly  handled.  The 
three  Lendu  came  to  the  Fort  to  report  the  matter  and  to  be 
treated.     One  of  the  men  had  one  of  his  thumbs  split  open 


A  FISHMONGER. 


and  so  injured  that  I  had  to  amputate  a  portion.  The  woman's 
back  was  streaming  with  blood.  The  charming  creature  who 
had  thus  enforced  her  royal  wishes  was  summoned  to  the 
Fort  ;  naturally  she  refused  to  come,  and  took  refuge  in  King 
Mwanga's  so-called  palace.  I  informed  the  king  that  his  royal 
spouse  was  " wanted"  on  a  serious  charge  of  highway  robbery  with 
violence.  He  replied  that  he  was  most  anxious  to  assist  the 
Government,  but  unfortunately  he  was  unable  to  find  the  lady  in 
his  enclosure.  Thanking  him  for  the  assistance  he  had  offered, 
I  intimated,  that  if  within  half-an-hour  the  accused  did  not  arrive 


AT  KAMPALA 


129 


at  the  Fort,  I  should  send  a  strong  body  of  armed  Soudanese 
to  assist  his  majesty  in  a  thorough  search. 

The  lady  was  sent  immediately,  but  accompanied  by  a  mighty 
following  of  all  the  great  chiefs,  from  the  Protestant  Prime 
Minister  downwards.  When  the  charge  was  thoroughly  proved 
and  the  great  chiefs  had  concurred  that  the  accused  was  guilty, 
I  asked  the  Prime  Minister  what  sentence  in  his  opinion  should 
be  passed  on  the  woman.  To  this  he  gave  the  evasive  answer, 
"  She  is  a  queen  ;  she  is  King  Mwanga's  wife."  Those  who 
know  what  is  meant  by  "  shauries  "  with  Waganda,  can  picture 
the  wearisome  discussion  which  followed  for  hours,  the  chiefs 
admitting  that  the  woman  was  guilty,  but  declining  to  pass 
a  sentence  on  her  because  she  was  a  queen  and  King 
Mwanga's  wife  ;  ultimately  a  sentence  of  three  months  impri- 
sonment was  passed,  and  confirmed  by  Her  Majesty's  Acting 
Commissioner. 

The  Lendu  women  at  Kampala  in  1894  went  practically  naked 
but  for  a  covering  of  leaves  in  the  Makraka  fashion.  They  too 
are  benefitting  by  the  British  occupation  of  the  country.  This 
can  be  seen  in  the  illustration  of  a  Lendu  mother  with  her  baby. 
She  and  her  husband  accompanied  my  caravan  from  Kampala  to 
Luba's  on  my  last  journey.  Every  Lendu  woman  in  my  caravan 
was  respectably  attired  in  a  white  cotton  petticoat  reaching  from 
the  waist  to  the  ankles.  Ear-rings,  necklaces,  bracelets,  further 
testified  that  they  were  comfortably  well-off.  The  baby  was 
carried  in  a  peculiar  sort  of  sling  plaited  out  of  strips  of  palm 
leaves.  It  supported  the  baby  pick-a-back  fashion  with  one  leg 
dangling  free  on  each  side.  Fastened  by  leather  straps  to  the 
mother's  waist  and  shoulders,  the  sling  left  the  arms  of  the 
mother  free.  But  a  queer  covering,  shaped  like  a  candle- 
extinguisher,  was  shoved  over  the  baby's  head  to  shield  it  from  sun 
and  rain.  This  cone-shaped  cover  was  also  made  out  of  plaited 
strips  of  palm  leaves.  Finding  that  I  had  photographed  her, 
the  woman  was  not  very  pleased,  and  expressed  her  doubts 
whether  such  magic  arts  of  the  white  man  were  likely  to  be 
productive  of  a  blessing  either  on  her  or  her  baby  ;  but  she 
promptly  changed  her  mind  on  the  subject,  when  I  gave 
her  a  present  of  a  pat  of  butter  which  I  had  watched  her 
haggling  for. 

The  Lendu  at  Kampala  came  originally  as  slaves  and  fol- 
lowers of  the  Soudanese.     The  Lendu  country  lies  beyond  Lake 

I 


i3o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Albert,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lur  country.  It  is  said  that  the 
Soudanese  in  passing  through  enslaved  a  good  many,  and  that 
other  Lendu  followed  voluntarily  owing  to  famine.  Many  of  the 
Lendu  are  now  paid  Government  labourers  and  are  earning  a 
comfortable  wage.  That  they  are  of  a  low  type  is  shown  by  a 
case  I  had  to  try  at  Kampala.  A  Soudanese  soldier  complained 
that  he  had  paid  a  large  sum  to  a  Lendu  to  get  a  Lendu 
woman  ;  she  had  remained  with  him  as  wife  and  cook  for  a 
few  months  and  had  then  returned  to  her  Lendu  husband.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  to  obtain  a  wife  by  purchase  is  the 


FRONT  OF  PROTESTANT  CATHEDRAL  ON  NAMIREMBE  HILL. 


universal  rule,  and  not  the  exception  in  these  countries  ;  it  is 
not  slave-dealing  in  the  accepted  sense  of  the  word,  though  it 
is  open  to  question  whether  it  does  not  fall  under  the  same 
heading.  A  proof  that  it  is  not  slave-buying  is  that  the  woman 
knew  she  was  still  a  free  woman  and  had  acted  accordingly. 
The  Soudanese  soldier  was  naturally  very  much  disappointed 
that  his  payment  of  purchase-money  could  not  be  accepted  by 
me  as  constituting  any  right  whatever  over  the  woman. 

The  day  of  rest  the  Lendu  community  spend  almost  invari- 
ably in  dancing  and  jollification.  A  Lendu  dance  consists  in 
hopping  more  or  less  slowly  in  single  file  around  the  musicians. 
The  dancers  frequently  daub  and  smear  themselves  with  white 
clay.    Only  small  children  don  the  national  dress  of  leaves  ; 


AT  KAMPALA 


women  often  stick  a  bunch  of  leaves  outside  their  petticoat 
in  memory  of  bygone  days.  The  dancers  usually  carry  a  stick 
or  leafy  branch  ;  a  good  many  have  a  tiny  reed  whistle  to  add 
to  the  musical  din.  One  dancer,  I  noticed,  was  very  proud  of 
a  head-dress  he  had  invented  for  the  occasion  ;  it  was  a  small 
reed-bowl  worn  as  a  cap,  with  a  tuft  of  feathers  stuck  on  top  of 
it.  The  band  consisted  of  drums,  horns,  gourd-rattles,  and  almost 
anything  that  would  swell  the  noise,  and  yet  they  managed  some- 
how to  maintain  a  monotonous  tune,  somewhat  mournful  and 
wailing,  but  of  assistance  to  the  dancers  in  keeping  time. 

The  wonderful  conversion  of  the  Waganda  to  Christianity  is 
a  striking  illustration  how  easily  vast  multitudes  may  be  influ- 
enced by  a  few  men,  just  as  the  Ephesian  throng  was  ready  to 
shout  that  their  Diana  was  great.  That  there  are  a  number 
of  sincere  and  real  conversions  among  the  Waganda  may  be 
granted,  but  it  is  rather  difficult  to  believe  that  so  many  thousand 
men,  women,  boys,  and  girls  should  all  have  realised  at  the 
same  moment  and  suddenly,  not  only  the  inestimable  superiority 
of  Christianity  over  Mohammedanism  and  heathenism,  but  should 
have  grasped  the  relative  merits  between  Protestantism  and 
Roman  Catholicism,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  choose  either  in  pre- 
ference to  the  other.  It  seems  sad  that  a  fratricidal  war  should 
have  broken  out  between  the  two  factions,  as  related  by  Lugard  ; 
but  intolerance  and  bigotry  are  dangerously  near  to  every  sudden 
conversion,  and  Uganda  was  not  to  be  the  exception. 

I  happened  to  be  at  Kampala  when  the  Protestant  cathe- 
dral on  Namirembe  hill  was  blown  down  by  a  violent  gust  of 
wind.  A  new  cathedral  was  speedily  erected.  The  huge  grass- 
thatched  roof  requires  some  hundreds  of  tall  palm-stem  pillars 
to  support  it.  The  cathedral  carries  a  plain  cross.  The  elegant 
reed-work  of  the  walls  is  neatly  finished  off,  but  otherwise  it 
is  simple  in  the  extreme.  It  is  an  impressive  sight  to  see  the 
thousands  of  worshippers  flocking  to  it  on  a  Sunday  morning. 

To  a  certain  extent  this  universal  conversion  by  the  thou- 
sand is  an  outcome  of  the  deeply-grafted  feudal  system.  The 
great  chief  becomes  a  Protestant  or  a  Roman  Catholic,  as 
the  case  may  be,  and  at  once  most  of  his  sub-chiefs  adopt 
the  same  form  of  worship  ;  peasants,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
follow  their  sub-chiefs.  It  becomes  a  mark  of  superiority  to 
be  able  to  read  and  write,  and  immediately  every  one  tries  to 
attain  to  this  level.    A  good  bell-wether  is  of  inestimable  value 


132 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


to  a  shepherd,  and  the  bell-cow  that  acts  as  leader  to  a  herd 
on  giddy  mountain  heights  in  Switzerland  has  been  known  to 
fight  desperately  with  others  for  her  distinguished  but  perilous 
position.  If  proverbially  dull-brained  animals  can  exercise  this 
influence  over  a  herd,  it  does  not  seem  improbable  that  the 
animal  on  the  top  rung  of  creation's  ladder,  and  known  as 
homo  sapiens,  should  on  occasion  similarly  sway  a  multitude  of 
his  own  species. 

During  my  stay  at  Kampala  I  gathered,  that  chiefs,  great  and 
small,  considered  it  their  most  important  daily  duty  to  attend 


RUBAGA  HILL  SEEN  FROM  NAMIREMBE. 


from  nine  to  twelve  biblical  instruction.  As  they  are  intelligent 
pupils,  there  is  nothing  surprising  in  the  remark  once  made  to 
me  by  a  missionary,  that  he  could  not  find  questions  hard  enough 
to  "  stump "  the  adult  scholars  who  had  been  attending  this 
course  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  French  Algerian  Mission,  known  as  the  "  White  Fathers," 
have  settled  on  Rubaga  hill.  These  hardy  missionaries  devote 
their  life  to  the  cause  ;  as  a  rule,  they  die  out  here,  unless  some 
one  completely  broken  down  is  invalided  by  a  medical  man 
before  it  is  too  late.  The  Church  Mission  Society  grant  a  full 
year's  leave  to  their  missionaries  after  every  five  years  of  work, 


AT  KAMPALA 


133 


but  these  White  Fathers  have  no  restful  leave  of  absence  to  look 
forward  to.  I  had  the  privilege,  although  myself  a  Protestant, 
of  enjoying  the  friendship  of  more  than  one  of  this  heroic  band. 
I  knew  the  Venerable  Pere  Guiilemin  when  he  was  simply  Father 
Superior ;  he  became  Bishop,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  died. 
Sir  Gerald  Portal  in  his  book  mentions  the  hospitality  of  these 
White  Fathers.  I,  too,  have  had  the  honour  of  being  invited 
to  their  table.  One  evening  Judge  Collinson  and  I  were  their 
guests,  and  I  tasted  for  the  first  time  a  ripe  mango  in  Uganda. 
Last  time  I  visited  them  they  told  me  they  now  formed  the 
"quadruple  alliance,"  because  one  of  their  number  happened 
to  be  a  Frenchman,  the  other  a  Belgian,  Monseigneur  the 
Bishop  an  Alsatian,  and  the  fourth  man,  if  I  remember  rightly, 
an  Austrian. 

These  White  Fathers  have  a  rule,  which  the  Church  Mission 
Society  has  also  adopted,  of  never  having  a  missionary  living 
lonely    and  solitary 
by   himself.  There 


are  always  two  at 
least  together  in  every 
mission  station,  and 
if  death  removes  one, 
another  is  sent  to 
make  up  the  number. 
They  devote  some  of 
their  leisure  to  gar- 
dening, and  to  be 
able  to  enjoy  a  ripe 
mango  from  a  mango- 
tree  raised  by  them 
from  seed  is  sufficient 
proof  that  merited 
success  has  rewarded 
their     efforts.  The 


courteous      greeting  an  albino-negro. 

extended     by  their 

converts  to  passing  strangers  is  noticed  at  once  by  all  accus- 
tomed to  the  surly  indifference  of  Protestant  native  converts 
towards  any  white  man  they  do  not  happen  to  know. 

A  white  negro  belongs  to  the  same  class  of  curiosities  of 
Nature  as  a  white  blackbird.    There  is  at  Kampala  a  boy  who 


134 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


is  an  albino-negro.  He  is  a  perfect  negro  as  shown  by  his 
features,  his  woolly  hair,  and  by  the  formation  of  his  skull  ;  but 
his  skin  is  white.  This  white  colour  is  unlike  a  European's, 
because  all  Europeans,  men  and  women,  are  bound  to  tan  more 
or  less  in  Africa.  This  poor  albino  presents  a  pitiable  object  of 
neglect.  As  dirt  shows  more  readily  on  his  white  skin,  he  always 
looks  dirty  compared  to  his  black  playfellows.  The  glare  of  the 
sun  hurts  his  sensitive  albino-eyes,  and  has  caused  his  keeping 
the  right  eye  habitually  closed  and  his  blinking  with  the  left  eye. 
This  photophobia  has  produced  the  habitual  effort  of  twisting 
the  face,  so  as  to  mitigate  the  pain  which  the  rays  of  light  cause, 
when  they  strike  his  unprotected  iris  ;  and  in  this  way  his  mouth 
has  been  pulled  awry,  and  his  features  have  assumed  an  un- 
pleasant and  unhappy  expression.  When  I  examined  his  eyes 
the  last  time  I  was  at  Kampala,  they  looked  decidedly  more  grey 
to  what  I  noticed  four  years  ago. 

Kampala  has  two  Christian  Prime  Ministers  (the  one  a  Pro- 
testant, the  other  a  Roman  Catholic)  and  three  Christian  Bishops 
(the  one  a  Protestant,  the  two  others  Roman  Catholics).  With 
this  storage  of  power  and  of  evangelising  force,  one  would  imagine 
that  Kampala  must  be  a  sort  of  "New  Jerusalem,"  a  city  of 
saints.  But  there  is  not  another  place  I  know,  either  in  Uganda 
or  in  the  East  African  Protectorate,  where  "  so  many  thieves 
break  through  and  steal."  On  my  very  first  arrival  at  Kampala 
I  had  an  illustration  of  this  fact.  The  captain,  then  in  command 
of  the  fort,  on  ushering  us  into  the  mess-room,  wanted  to  refer 
to  the  clock.  "  Well,  I'm  blest,"  he  exclaimed,  "  they've  stolen 
the  clock  ! "  The  clock,  it  appears,  usually  stood  on  the  side- 
board. As  he  went  on  chatting  with  the  greatest  equanimity 
about  other  matters,  and  took  the  theft  with  such  perfect  com- 
posure, I  thought  it  was  simply  a  joke,  especially  as  my  com- 
panion, the  major,  laughed  very  heartily.  When  our  host  had 
left  the  room,  I  found  that  it  was  not  a  joke,  but  real  earnest.  I 
thereupon  expressed  to  my  companion  my  admiration  for  a  man 
who  could  take  loss  and  annoyance  with  such  gentlemanly  forti- 
tude, as  it  was  impossible  to  replace  the  clock  without  writing  to 
England  for  another  to  be  sent  out,  and  this  could  not  possibly 
reach  Kampala  under  eight  months.  My  companion  explained 
how  it  was,  that  the  captain  took  it  so  coolly.  "  One  usually 
takes  another  man's  misfortunes  with  heroic  indifference,"  he 
said  ;  "  the  clock  does  not  belong  to  the  captain  at  all,  but  to  the 


AT  KAMPALA 


*35 


other  man  who  is  away,  and  who  will  probably  not  take  it  quite 
so  calmly  when  he  hears  of  the  theft."  This  happened  in  June 
1894.  Since  then  there  has  been  further  phenomenal  missionary 
activity  at  Kampala  and  in  Uganda.  The  number  of  missionaries, 
white  and  black,  I  mean  European  and  native,  at  the  same  rate 
of  increase,  must  become  legion  in  the  future.  They  are  com- 
posed of  priests  and  laymen,  males  and  females,  Protestants  and 
Roman  Catholics,  married  and  single.  I  should  not  venture  to 
compute  the  thousands  of  natives  that  have  been  baptized  and 
the  number  of  benighted  souls  that  have  been  saved.  But  the 
devil  seems  to  have  become  aware,  that  he  must  bestir  himself, 
hurry  up  and  strengthen  his  forces,  if  he  does  not  want  to  see 
the  Millennium  arriving  at  Kampala  earlier  than  elsewhere. 
This  may  account,  why  the  thieves  have  grown  infinitely  bolder 
at  Kampala  at  the  present  day,  and  they  do  not  spare  mission- 
aries either.  One  day  one  of  the  Mission  ladies  was  terrified 
by  a  thief  in  her  room.  This  emissary  of  Satan  snatched  up 
some  of  her  property 
and  escaped. 

The  last  time  I  was 
at  Kampala,  I  saw  a 
mixture  of  troops  drawn 
together  from  various 
sources,  owing  to  the 
Soudanese  mutiny. 
Amongst  these  were  a 
number  of  East  African 
Rifles  hurriedly  sent 
up  from  Mombasa. 
Dressed  in  brown  kake, 
with  red  fez  and  dark 
blue  putties,  and  wear- 
ing boots,  the  soldiers 
looked  very  smart. 
Those  I  saw  were  all  THE  EAST  African  rifles. 

rather  short ;  this  fact 

and  their  smooth  African  faces  gave  one  the  impression  of 
their  belonging  to  a  corps  of  boys. 

When  I  passed  through  Mombasa,  men  were  being  recruited 
for  the  Uganda  Rifles.  The  scarcity  of  men  available  to  enlist 
became  apparent,  when  one  gentleman  recognised  his  former 


i36 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


cook,  and  another  his  former  boy,  amongst  these  new  levies  who 
have  been  dubbed  by  some  facetious  joker  the  "  Knick-knacks," 
under  which  sobriquet  I  heard  of  them  already  some  hundreds 
of  miles  up-country.  In  future,  Indian  troops  will  also  be 
stationed  in  Uganda. 

When  the  British  Protectorate  was  declared  over  Uganda,  I 


FORT  KAMPALA  SEEN  FROM  THE  NATIVE  MARKET. 


happened  to  be  in  charge  of  Fort  Kampala,  where  the  historic 
document  ratifying  the  treaty  was  signed  by  Colonel  Colville 
and  King  Mwanga  who,  instead  of  writing  his  name,  always 
used  as  his  signature  the  word  "  Kabaka,"  which  means  king, 
for  every  official  document.  The  signatures  of  these  august 
personages  had  to  be  witnessed,  and  for  this  the  two  Prime 
Ministers  and  myself  were  selected.  On  this  occasion  one  of 
the  great  chiefs  was  so  impressed  by  the  splendour  of  an  English 
colonel's  full  ceremonial  uniform,  that  he  lost  no  time  in 
approaching  on  the  subject  the  representative  of  an  English 
firm,  and  offered  a  great  quantity  of  ivory  for  "a  suit  exactly 
like  the  Colonel's,"  cocked  hat  and  spurs  included. 

Another  minor  episode  which  happened  about  that  time  and 
which  now  appears  almost  comic,  looking  back  at  it  through  the 
vista  of  several  years,  was  far  from  comic  to  me  then.  A  seething 
unrest  seemed  to  pervade  the  Waganda.  It  led  to  sanguinary 
fights  under  Lugard,  and  taxed  his  skill  and  patience  to  the 
utmost.  It  burst  out  in  fresh  vigour  in  the  last  rebellion  of 
Waganda,  when  King  Mwanga  and  some  of  his  great  chiefs  took 
up  arms  against  the  British  Government.     Though  hundreds 


AT  KAMPALA 


137 


have  been  slaughtered,  and  the  king  has  been  declared  deposed, 
he  still  defies  the  Government,  and  holds  his  own  in  some  parts 
of  the  Protectorate  ;  it  is  said  he  has  some  hundreds,  according 
to  others  some  thousands,  of  adherents  armed  with  guns.  I 
became  aware  of  this  turbulent  native  spirit  during  my  period 
of  authority  at  Kampala.  I  had  reliable  information  that  plots 
against  the  Government  were  brewing.  There  were  at  least  half 
a  dozen  different  plots.  King  Mwanga  wanted  to  get  rid  of 
Apollo  Katikiro,  some  of  the  ambitious  chiefs  wished  to  turn  out 
Mwanga,  others  longed  to  oust  the  British  Government.  One  of 
the  leading  chiefs  concerned  in  these  matters  was  Mwanika.  It 
was  an  anxious  time  for  me,  a  civilian  temporarily  in  command 
of  a  fort  and  of  Soudanese  troops,  and  responsible  for  the  main- 
tenance of  peace.  I  kept  myself  thoroughly  informed  of  every 
movement  of  the  conspirators  and,  drawing  my  lines  closer 
and  closer,  waited  for  one  to  commit  himself  sufficiently  to 
seize  him.  The  disturbing  news  reached  also  the  late  Captain 
Dunning  in  distant  Unyoro,  and  he  wrote  to  me  about  it,  as  he 
was  unaware  that  I  was  alive  to  the  danger  menacing  the 
Government.  Under  pretext  of  collecting  men  to  rebuild  the 
Protestant  cathedral,  noisy  demagogues  were  beating  drums  and 
parading  the  outskirts  of  Kampala  with  armed  men.  Mwanika, 
I  heard,  was  laying  in  arms  and  ammunition. 

In  the  night  I  received  an  urgent  message  to  see  the  Acting 
Commissioner  who  lay  ill  at  Port  Alice.  Port  Alice  is  some 
twenty  miles  off.  I  took  every  precaution  with  my  Soudanese 
officers,  in  case  an  outbreak  should  happen  whilst  I  was  away, 
and  then  I  hurried  off  to  Port  Alice  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night.  I  found  the  Colonel  asleep,  and  not  wishing  to  wake 
him,  I  went  round  to  the  tent  of  the  gentleman  who  subse- 
quently became  temporarily  the  Acting  Commissioner.  Here 
I  was  given  a  blanket,  and  invited  to  make  myself  comfort- 
able on  the  floor  until  daybreak,  when  I  should  be  able  to  see 
my  patient. 

Those  who  have  been  to  Port  Alice  know  something  about  the 
mosquitoes  there.  The  late  Captain  Raymond  Portal  describes 
them  humorously  as  of  the  size  of  elephants.  1  have  met 
with  a  good  many  varieties  of  mosquitoes,  the  grey,  the  zebra- 
striped,  and  so  on  ;  but  Port  Alice  has  its  own  special  breed 
of  a  reddish-brown  colour,  twice  the  usual  size,  and  armed  with 
weapons  twice  as  powerful.    It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the 


138  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

male  mosquito  is  not  bloodthirsty  ;  it  lives  a  vegetarian  life, 
and,  though  "  bearded  like  a  pard,"  is  harmless.  It  is  the  female 
mosquito  which  is  the  hateful  blood-sucker.  When  I  lived  at 
Port  Alice,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  in  one  of  the  primitive 
structures  called  officers'  residences  which  we  pioneers  of  the 
Government  had  to  put  up  with  in  those  bygone  days,  I  used 
to  light  a  fire  of  green-wood  every  night  to  smoke  these 
pests  out. 

The  few  hours  I  spent  that  night  on  the  floor  of  the  tent, 
after  a  ride  of  twenty  miles,  I  am  not  likely  to  forget,  eaten  up 

alive  in  the 
meanwhile 
by  the  mos- 
quitoes. The 
tent  was 
pitched  in  a 
grassy  open- 
i  n  g  sur- 
rounded by 
a  mass  of 
shrubs  and 
forest  trees. 
With  early 
dawn  I  at- 
tended on  my 
patient,  pre- 
scribed for 
him,  had 
a  hurried 
wag  and  a  spearmen.  breakfast, 

and  then 

started  on  my  twenty  miles'  ride  back  to  Kampala.  I  reached 
Kampala  very  late  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  forty  miles  in  less 
than  twelve  hours  began  to  tell  also  on  the  horse. 

On  the  outskirts  of  Kampala  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  noisy 
crowd  of  natives  beating  a  war-drum.  Inquiring  who  they 
were,  I  heard  they  belonged  to  Mwanika,  and  that  it  was  his 
drum.  They  fled  in  every  direction,  but  after  a  smart  chase  we 
captured  the  drum  and  drummer.  Not  far  from  the  king's 
palace  we  came  upon  a  second  huge  crowd  ;  a  large  number  of 
the  men  were  armed  with  spears  and  some  with  guns.    A  man 


AT  KAMPALA 


i39 


dressed  in  spotless  white  was  haranguing  the  crowd,  and  when- 
ever the  speaker  paused,  the  crowd  shouted,  and  a  drummer 
standing  by  hammered  away  lustily  on  a  drum.  I  had  pre- 
arranged with  two  of  my  Soudanese  that,  if  we  should  by  any 
chance  meet  a  similar  turbulent  crowd,  one  should  approach  the 
drummer  without  attracting  attention  if  possible,  and  the  other 
should  similarly  make  sure  of  capturing  the  ringleader,  while  the 
attention  of  the  crowd  would  probably  be  fixed  on  me. 

We  came  round  the  corner  so  suddenly  upon  the  orator 
who  had  .his  back  to  us,  that  I  was  at  once  at  his  side.  He 
became  aware  of  my  presence  by  the  consternation  of  his 
audience.  I  inquired  who  he  was  and  to  whom  the  drum 
belonged.  I  was  told  he  was  Mwanika's  headman,  and  that 
this  drum  too  belonged  to  the  same  chief.  The  crowd  fled  in 
a  moment,  but  drum,  drummer,  and  orator  were  secured. 

We  arrived  at  the  Fort ;  and,  in  presence  of  these  alarming 
events,  I  decided  to  capture  Mwanika  himself  that  night.  Not 
to  rouse  the  suspicion  of  any  Waganda  watching  us,  we  col- 
lected Soudanese  soldiers  at  intervals  by  twos  and  threes 
from  their  settlement.  Having  armed  about  forty  of  them, 
and  also  some  of  our  reliable  Swahilies,  I  told  them  my  plan  : 
to  go  to  Mwanika's  house,  surround  it,  demand  entrance,  and 
arrest  Mwanika.  I  pressed  upon  my  men  that  I  wished  to  avoid 
bloodshed,  and  that  if  any  one  fired  his  rifle  without  permission, 
I  should  punish  him  most  severely.  I  told  them  that  I  myself 
should  knock  at  the  door  of  Mwanika's  house  :  if  I  was  fired  at 
and  fell,  then,  and  then  only,  should  they  have  the  right  to  use 
their  rifles  and  capture  Mwanika  at  all  costs.  I  fully  expected 
armed  resistance,  and  I  did  not  relish  the  prospect  of  being  shot 
down  ;  but  having  accepted  the  command  of  the  Fort,  I  felt  I 
must  bear  the  risks  as  well  as  the  honours  of  the  position.  To 
find  the  house,  I  used  Mwanika's  captured  headman  as  a  guide, 
and  to  prevent  treachery,  I  handcuffed  his  right  wrist  to  the  left 
wrist  of  one  of  my  most  trustworthy  men  ;  an  armed  Soudanese 
soldier  was  told  off  in  addition,  in  case  the  headman  should 
attempt  to  betray  us.  We  found  the  house,  surrounded  it,  and 
I  demanded  to  see  Mwanika.  Whilst  I  stood  at  one  door,  a 
naked  man,  brandishing  a  long  knife,  dashed  out  by  another. 
One  of  my  men  attempted  to  seize  the  fugitive,  but  failed.  It 
was  Mwanika  who  thus  escaped  and  took  refuge  with  the 
Protestant  Prime  Minister.    I  searched  the  house,  and  carried 


i4o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


war-drums,  rifles,  gunpowder,  and  cartridges  to  the  Fort.  It 
was  a  hard  day's  work,  and  I  was  dead  tired  when  I  went 
to  bed. 

Next  day  all  the  great  chiefs,  with  the  exception  of  Mwanika, 
assembled  at  the  Fort.  I  demanded  the  surrender  of  Mwanika 
to  stand  his  trial  on  a  charge  of  trying  to  foment  and  raise  a 
rebellion  against  the  British  Government.  I  hinted  that  all 
present  would  have  to  remain  and  wait  till  Mwanika  appeared. 
Thereupon  urgent  messengers  were  despatched  by  the  chiefs 
ordering  Mwanika  to   appear  at  once.     He  came,  and  was 


MAIN -ENTRANCE  OF  FORT  KAMPALA. 

allowed  to  depart  again,  as  both  the  Protestant  Prime  Minister 
and  the  Sekibobo  went  surety  for  Mwanika's  future  behaviour. 
The  Sekibobo  was  a  man  I  greatly  esteemed.  He  was  a  loyal 
supporter  of  English  rule  in  Uganda.  His  word  could  be 
safely  relied  on  ;  and  his  word  being  pledged  that  Mwanika's 
future  behaviour  should  be  above  suspicion,  was,  in  my 
opinion,  the  best  security  that  Mwanika  would  now  be  ren- 
dered absolutely  harmless.  The  Sekibobo  has  died  since, 
and  the  Government  has  lost  in  him  a  strong  support.  The 
assembled  chiefs  then  agreed  that  Mwanika's  confiscated  war 
material  should  remain  in  the  Fort  for  four  months,  and 
should  then  be  restored,  if  not  another  rumour  as  to  his  dis- 
loyalty was  heard  ;   but  that  it  should  be  permanently  seized 


AT  KAMPALA 


141 


by  the  Government,  if  directly  or  indirectly  he  caused  the 
spread  of  disloyal  sentiments. 

In  this  way  all  smouldering  disloyalty  was  extinguished,  and 
the  rebellion  was  nipped  in  the  bud  without  bloodshed.  In 
fact,  such  absolute  security  now  followed,  that  when  I  handed 
over  Kampala  to  my  successor,  he  subsequently  decided  to 
pull  down  the  stockade  which  protected  the  Fort  and  to  fill 
up  the  trench  around  it. 

Since  then  three  years  have  passed,  and  a  Waganda  rebel- 
lion and  a  Soudanese  mutiny  have  occurred,  and  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  build  up  a  new  Fort  as  speedily  as  possible. 
This  new  Fort  is  larger  in  area  than  the  old  one  which  was 
still  the  one  originally  built  by  Lugard ;  but  instead  of  a 
wooden  stockade  there  are  now  high  strong  ramparts  of 
earthwork  surmounted  by  some  brickwork.  The  new  trench  is 
also  deeper  and  wider  than  the  old  one. 

The  main-entrance  of  Fort  Kampala  is  a  massive  structure, 
with  a  field-gun  mounted  on  the  top  of  it.  A  draw-bridge 
gives  admission  to  the  Fort  during  the  day  and,  by  revolving 
round  an  axis,  acts  as  a  barred  gate  at  night.  This  ingenious 
piece  of  mechanism  is  the  work  of  Mr.  Pordage,  whose  engi- 
neering skill  was  requisitioned  in  constructing  the  new  Fort. 

When  last  I  saw  Fort  Kampala,  the  mutiny  scare  had  not 
yet  subsided,  though  no  mutineer  has  approached  its  walls. 
The  outcome  of  the  mutiny  is,  that  a  more  liberal  allowance 
has  been  granted  to  meet  Government  expenditure,  and  that 
the  British  nation  has  a  firmer  hold  than  ever  of  the  Uganda 
Protectorate. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SOUDANESE. 

THE  British  Empire  is.  too  vast,  for  every  ratepayer  to 
know  exactly  what  is  happening  in  every  one  of  its 
distant  outposts,  or  how  the  money  is  spent  which 
his  representative  in  Parliament  has  voted.  He  is 
satisfied,  and  rightly,  that  "no  news  generally  means  good 
news,"  and  that  the  wisest  policy  is  to  "leave  well  alone."  He 
is  confident,  and  with  justice,  that  anything  wrong  or  unusual, 
should  it  happen,  would  soon  be  brought  to  his  notice  by  the 
Press,  the  trusted  and  trustworthy  guardians  of  public  interests. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  attention  was  directed  in  1897  to 
the  Soudanese  in  Uganda,  and  then  only  because  they  had 
mutinied.  The  mutiny,  though  absolutely  insignificant  when 
compared  with  the  momentous  Indian  Mutiny  with  its  gigantic 
interests  at  stake,  had  some  resemblance  to  its  prototype  :  in 
arising  from  general  discontent  due  to  some  apparently  trivial 
causes ;  in  black  troops,  armed  and  drilled  by  Europeans, 
turning  their  weapons  and  their  knowledge  against  their  bene- 
factors ;  in  brutal  murders  perpetrated  with  relentless  and 
undiscriminating  ferocity  against  defenceless  white  men  who 
had  fallen  into  the  power  of  the  mutineers  ;  finally,  by  the 
prompt  assistance  rendered  by  the  Home  Government  to  sup- 
press the  mutiny  and  to  remove  its  alleged  causes. 

The  Soudanese  have  proved  that  they  are  made  of  the  right 
fighting  stuff,  that  they  possess  the  two  indispensable  qualities 
of  obedience  and  courage,  and  that  they  are  eminently  suited 
for  the  purpose  for  which  Lugard  selected  them.  No  German 
military  officer  can  hold  a  more  exalted  opinion  than  a  Sou- 
danese, as  to  the  immeasurable  superiority  of  the  military  career 
as  a  profession.    His  one  ambition  is  to  be  a  soldier. 

A  Government  Medical  Officer  in  Uganda  sees  a  good  deal 

142 


THE  SOUDANESE 


143 


of  the  Soudanese.  He  not  only  attends  the  European  officials, 
Goanese  and  Armenian  clerks,  Indian  artisans,  Swahili  porters, 
local  labourers  and  prisoners,  but  also  the  Soudanese  soldiers, 
and  accompanies  the  troops  on  military  campaigns  and  puni- 
tive expeditions. 

It  is  already  a  matter  of  history  how  the  Soudanese  came  to 
Uganda,  where  they  are  aliens  quite  as  much  as  any  European. 
The  Dervish  success  in  the  Soudan,  culminating  in  the  fall  of 
Khartoum,  when  Gordon  Pasha  lost  his  life,  drove  out  of  the 
country  what  remained  of  the  troops  wearing  the  Egyptian 
uniform.  These  fugitives  carried  their  arms  and  ammunition 
with  them.  Having  knowledge  of  the  advantage  of  military 
discipline,  they  followed  with  implicit  obedience  their  leaders, 
and,  owing  to  the  superiority  of  their  arms,  they  found  them- 
selves masters  of  the  territories  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  invade.  Left  to  forage  for  themselves,  they  became  raiding 
bands ;  but  they  knew  that  unity  meant  strength,  and  they 
held  together  to  resist  the  common  enemy. 

According  to  Mohammedan  notions,  slaves  are  lawful  spoil ; 
and  captives,  boys  as  well  as  girls,  would  thus  be  added  to 
the  household.  These  children  of  different  races,  speaking 
different  languages,  unknown  to  each  other  and  to  their  cap- 
tors, soon  forgot  their  own  language  and  learnt  to  speak  the 
tongue  of  the  Soudanese.  Many — I  believe  I  may  venture  to 
say  most — of  our  so-called  Soudanese  soldiers  are  not  true 
Soudanese,  nor  even  their  descendants,  but  purely  and  simply 
their  slave  children  grown  up.  Some  soldiers  could  tell  me 
that  they  were  Bari,  Makraka,  Lendu,  or  Lur,  words  familiar 
to  my  ear ;  others  again  would  mention  some  unfamiliar  name, 
or  not  know  themselves  what  country  they  came  from. 

Lugard,  hearing  of  these  dangerous  hordes  on  the  borders  of 
Uganda,  by  a  master-stroke  converted  them  into  useful  allies. 
Others  who  succeeded  him  in  authority  followed  his  example, 
for  shortly  after  my  arrival  in  Uganda  another  company  of  these 
wanderers  was  enlisted.  I  remember  the  curious  spectacle  they 
presented  at  Port  Alice,  when  they  were  told  to  fall  in  for  the 
preliminary  inspection-parade.  Some  still  wore  portions  of  a 
former  uniform,  others  had  practically  nothing  on  but  a  loin- 
cloth. Their  weapons  were  equally  incongruous.  Many  of  the 
men  were  sound  and  healthy,  others  were  feeble  and  infirm  ; 
some  were  greybeards,  others  mere  boys.     Yet  amongst  the 


i44  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


worthless  husks  was  found  good  and  valuable  grain,  well  worth 
the  sifting  and  looking  for. 

The  Soudanese  having  found  themselves  superior  to  the 
different  races  they  met  with  in  their  southward  progress, 
acquired  a  very  considerable  amount  of  self-confidence,  and, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  they  looked  down  on  the  Waganda. 
They  now  formed  the  standing  army  in  Uganda,  and  were 
bound  to  support  the  white  man,  from  whom  they  were 
receiving  pay,  rations,  and  clothing.    Frugal  and  thrifty,  and 


THE  MILITARY  WATCH-TOWER  AT  KIBERO. 


accustomed  to  manage  on  very  little,  they  gladly  accepted  to 
be  provided  with  daily  rations  and  clothing,  and  four  rupees, 
that  is  five  shillings,  per  month  as  pay.  The  presence  of  this 
standing  army  strengthened  British  influence  and  authority  in 
Uganda  itself,  and  their  successful  punitive  expeditions  against 
the  Wakitosh,  Wakilelowa,  and  Wanandi  extended  British  supre- 
macy over  adjacent  regions. 

The  Soudanese  have  also  rendered  excellent  service  in  guard- 
ing the  frontiers  of  the  Protectorate.  The  military  watch-tower 
at  Kibero,  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  is  simply  a  mud- 
structure,  but  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  rough  and 
ready,  though  useful,  methods  employed  in  the  country. 


THE  SOUDANESE 


H5 


Polygamy  is  the  rule  with  the  Soudanese.  Imam  Abdulla 
Effendi,  the  Soudanese  officer  in  command  at  Kibero,  had  seven 
wives  and  five  children.  On  my  first  visit  to  Kibero  I  was  the 
bearer  of  a  judicial  decision  against  him.  He  had  just  divorced 
a  wife,  and  she  had  appealed  at  headquarters.  I  had  been  in- 
structed to  see  that  the  sentence  of  the  court,  ordering  Imam 
Effendi  to  refund  her  dowry  to  the  wife  he  had  just  divorced, 
was  carried  out  in  my  presence.  Thereupon  he  regaled  me 
with  the  whole  story ;  how  his  undutiful  wTife,  instead  of  serving 
him  with  his  dinner,  chose  to  throw  it  at  his  head  ;  how  he 
had  then  ordered  one  of  his  subordinates  to  seize  and  im- 
prison the  woman  for  the  night ;  and  how  next  morning  he 
had  divorced  her.  I  assured  Imam  Effendi  that  the  case  had 
not  been  heard  by  me,  and  that  I  was  merely  instructed  to 
see  that  the  wTife,  having  been  divorced,  received  back  her 
dowry  in  accordance  with  established  local  Mohammedan 
custom.  As  a  specimen  of  what  one  has  to  put  up  with,  in 
dealing  with  natives,  I  give  a  few  sentences  of  what  took 
place. 

/.  "  You  are  to  refund  to  this  woman  her  dowry." 

He.  "  God  knows,  I  have  already  refunded  it." 

She.  "  It's  a  lie  ;  he  has  only  given  me  eight  yards  of  cloth." 

I  had  now  to  examine  numerous  witnesses,  some  swearing 
that  only  four  yards  of  cloth  were  paid,  others  swearing  equally 
hard  that  eight  yards  were  paid.  Finally  I  ascertained  that 
forty  rupees,  about  £2,  10s.,  was  still  due  to  the  woman.  This 
I  ordered  Imam  Effendi  to  refund. 

/.  u  You  are  now  to  refund  to  the  woman  forty  rupees. 
Have  you  got  the  money  ?" 

He.  "  God  is  witness,  I  have  nothing." 

She.  "  It's  a  lie  ;  he  has  cows,  and  goats,  and  sheep." 

And  so  it  went  on.  Having  ascertained  that  he  had  some 
cows,  goats,  and  sheep,  and  the  respective  local  value  of  each,  I 
knew  that  he  would  rather  part  with  goats  and  sheep  than  a 
cow.  As  the  value  of  a  cow  had  been  stated  to  be  equal  to  forty 
rupees,  I  pointed  out  to  Imam  the  simplicity  of  his  settling  the 
whole  matter  by  handing  over  one  cow  to  the  woman. 

Imam  trembled  for  his  cow,  and  urged  me  to  let  him  pay  up 
in  goats  and  sheep.  As  the  woman  agreed  to  accept  three  sheep 
and  two  goats  as  the  equivalent  of  forty  rupees,  I  consented  to 
the  arrangement.    The  goats  and  sheep  were  sent  for.    I  had 

K 


146  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

threatened,  that  if  he  picked  out  the  worst  in  his  flock,  I  should 
certainly  decide  on  the  simpler  settlement  of  payment  by  one 
cow  which  his  divorced  lady  should  have  the  right  to  select. 
Imam  brought  five  beautiful  animals  ;  and  wiping  the  per- 
spiration off  his  face,  he  eagerly  entreated  the  woman  to  accept 
them  and  to  depart.  With  natives,  when  once  the  parties  to  a 
purchase  or  contract  have  accepted  and  separated,  the  trans- 
action is  supposed  to  be  binding  and  it  cannot  be  annulled. 

Hence  his  hurry  to  get  her  to 
accept  and  go.  On  my  second 
visit  to  Kibero,  Imam  had 
already  rilled  the  vacancy  in 
his  household  by  marrying 
another.  In  the  meantime  his 
divorced  lady,  the  wealthy 
possessor  of  three  sheep  and 
two  goats,  notwithstanding  her 
having  flung  the  dinner  at 
her  previous  husband's  head, 
had  also  had  offers,  and  having 
decided  which  to  accept,  she 
too  felt  consoled. 

The  humbler  class  of  Souda- 
nese women  and  girls  still  wear 
the  "  raha,"  or  petticoat  of 
plaited  strings.  It  is  really 
their  national  costume.  This 
"raha"  consists  of  a  number 
of  plaited  strings  falling  in  a 
Soudanese.  double    or   treble   row  from 

the  encircling  waist-belt.  At 
first  sight  this  dress  would  scarcely  seem  as  good  a  clothing  as 
leaves,  but  in  reality  it  is  one  of  the  most  effectual  coverings  I 
have  yet  met  with  amongst  African  races.  For  whether  they 
stand,  walk,  run,  sit,  kneel,  or  stoop,  the  strings  will  always  fall 
around  them  gracefully. 

All  the  hard  work  in  connection  with  the  food  question  is 
performed  by  women.  They  clear  the  patch  of  jungle  which 
is  to  be  the  field,  they  till  the  soil,  they  plant,  they  weed, 
and  they  gather  in  the  harvest.  They  prepare  the  native  brew, 
they  distil  the  native  whisky,  they  look  after  the  poultry,  and 


THE  SOUDANESE 


147 


they  fetch  the  firewood.  In  addition  to  this,  if  they  can  possibly 
manage  it,  they  will  try  a  little  retail  business,  and  endeavour  to 
sell  something  or  other  to  the  passer-by  at  double  the  price  they 
paid  themselves,  Of  course,  the  more  women  there  are  in  a 
family,  the  easier  it  is  for  them  to  get  through  this  amount  of 
work ;  hence  the  females  of  the  household  thoroughly  approve, 
if  the  head  of  the  family  adds  extra  assistance  in  the  shape  of 
additional  wives.  Marriage  of  course  means  purchase.  The 
father  expects  to  receive  for  his  daughter  a  certain  sum  which 
varies  according  to  his  own  position.  Some  of  these  sums  are 
enormous,  and  remind  one  of  Jacob  forfeiting  seven  years'  wages 
as  a  payment  for  Rachel. 

A  Soudanese  wedding  is  an  expensive  affair  for  the  bride- 
groom, notwithstanding  the  pecuniary  contributions  of  the 
wedding-guests.  The  style  of  the  entertainment  depends  on 
the  rank  of  the  bride.  If  she  is  simply  a  slave  girl  added  to 
the  harem,  her  arrival  does  not  cause  any  greater  excitement 
than  the  purchase  of  an  additional  sheep  or  goat.  The  girl 
is  in  reality  a  servant,  but  she  is  a  wife  at  the  same  time 
and  her  children  rank  equally  with  the  legitimate  offspring, 
in  accordance  with  a  deeply  rooted  custom  of  great  antiquity. 
It  has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages.  The  childless  wife 
is  not  likely  to  look  with  favour  on  the  child  of  the  handmaid, 
and  the  Soudanese  Abraham  may  be  driven  by  his  Sarah  to 
expel  the  Hagar  and  Ishmael  of  his  household.  On  the  other 
hand,  even  a  Khedive  of  Egypt,  though  the  son  of  his  father's 
slave,  has  succeeded  to  his  father's  rank  and  wealth  by  natural 
right,  indisputable  according  to  Eastern  customs  and  Moham- 
medan teaching.  When  the  bride  is  a  girl  of  rank,  the 
bridegroom  has  sometimes  to  provide  her  with  handmaids  for 
her  own  private  use,  in  the  shape  of  a  slave  girl  or  two  ;  to 
buy  her  silver  or  even  gold  ornaments  ;  to  equip  her  with 
suitable  clothing  and  the  necessary  household-kit,  besides  the 
heavy  sum  which  he  has  to  pay,  cash  down,  to  the  father. 

Then  comes  the  wedding-feast.  Booths  are  constructed 
of  palm-leaves  and  branches ;  fowls,  sheep,  and  goats  are 
slaughtered  ;  and  if  the  bridegroom  is  of  high  rank  and  posi- 
tion, he  is  expected  to  kill  also  a  bullock  or  two  for  the  feast ; 
native  beer  is  provided  in  huge  gourds  by  the  score  ;  drums 
are  beaten  without  intermission  day  and  night,  unless  the 
long-suffering  European  official  is  driven  to  insist  that  from 


i48  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


io  p.m.  to  6  A.M.  there  shall  be  a  cessation  of  drum-beating  and 
turmoil,  in  order  to  enable  the  non-participators  in  the  revelry 
to  sleep ;  other  musical  attractions  are  provided,  such  as 
horns,  gourds,  rattles,  castanets,  and  triangles,  and  girls  and 
women  singing.  Then  there  are  the  open-air  dances,  circling 
around  the  musicians,  until  the  clouds  of  dust  cause  the  choking 
and  perspiring  dancers  to  rest  for  a  while  and  to  refresh  them- 
selves at  the  gourds  of  native  beer.  Custom  has  fixed  what  the 
wedding-guest,  according  to  his  rank,  has  to  contribute  in  cash 
towards  the  expenses  of  the  wedding  entertainment ;  the  private 
soldier  pays  about  a  tenth  or  a  twentieth  of  what  the  officer 
has  to  pay. 

The  Soudanese  ladies  plait  their  woolly  curls  into  short, 
close-lying  tresses  reaching  to  the  nape  of  the  neck.  They 
wear  very  few  ornaments ;  this  one  a  bracelet,  that  one  a 
necklace.  Some  wear  ear-rings,  others  a  sort  of  button  in  the 
outer  cartilage  of  one  of  the  nostrils.  Their  dress  is  very 
simple,  consisting  of  a  single  piece  of  cotton  cloth  of  sufficient 
length,  deftly  thrown  around  the  body.  Some,  in  accord- 
ance with  Mohammedan  precepts,  will  cover  also  head  and 
face.  A  graceful  and  common  squatting  posture  is  to  drop 
on  the  knees  and  sit  on  the  heels. 

The  Soudanese  hut  consists  of  a  circular  low  wall  of  reeds 
and  grass,  with  a  conical  grass-thatched  roof.  The  same  open- 
ing serves  as  door,  window,  and  exit  for  the  smoke.  The  whole 
family  lives  in  one  and  the  same  hut  with  all  its  possessions, 
including  poultry,  sheep,  and  goats.  The  opening  into  the  hut 
is  so  low  that  one  has  to  stoop  to  enter,  and  the  hut  itself  is 
so  dark,  that  even  in  day-time  I  have  had  to  strike  a  light  to 
see  the  patient  I  was  called  to  visit.  Sometimes  the  smoke 
from  the  wood-fire  which  is  usually  in  the  centre  of  the  hut, 
has  been  so  unbearable,  that  I  have  had  from  time  to  time  to 
get  into  the  outer  air  to  rest  my  aching  eyes  and  throat.  The 
household  effects  are  but  few :  a  light  wooden  couch,  a  low 
wooden  settle,  a  small  wooden  mortar,  a  long  pole  serving  as 
a  pestle  to  pound  dried  casava-root  into  mohogo  flour,  grind- 
stones to  grind  Kaffre-corn  into  matama  flour,  some  earthen 
vessels,  a  gourd  or  two  as  water-jugs,  and  a  few  grass-mats 
and  grass-platters. 

In  a  typical  scene  in  a  Soudanese  village,  the  lady  will  be 
seen  sitting  on  a  low  settle  at  the  door  of  her  hut  and  super- 


THE  SOUDANESE 


149 


intending  the  domestic  work ;  there  will  be  the  boy  sent 
to  fetch  water ;  there  will  be  women  either  pounding  or 
grinding  corn,  and  there  will  be  poultry  about.  Castor-oil 
plants  are  usually  found  in  the  village,  stretching  out  their 
broad  green  leaves. 

One  day  at  Hoima  I  came  upon  a  group  of  Soudanese 
children  gambling  for  locusts.  The  gambling  instinct  seems 
to  be  widely  disseminated.  The  stakes  were  not  "  high  "  ;  the 
locusts  were  fresh  caught.  Countless  millions  of  locusts  had 
passed  over 
Hoima  for 
the  last  few 
days.  Octo- 
ber seems  to 
be  their 
breeding  sea- 
son in  this 
part  of  Africa. 
The  male  in- 
sect has  a 
yellow  head  ; 
the  female  is 
generally 
somewhat 
larger  in  size, 
and  her  head 
is  more  of  an 
orange  -  red. 
All  native 
races  eat  lo- 
custs ;  with  many  it  takes,  and  has  to  take,  the  place  of  the 
British  workman's  beef  and  mutton.  In  a  good  many  villages 
sun-dried  locusts  are  an  article  of  commerce.  The  Soudanese 
are  particularly  fond  of  them.  As  soon  as  a  swarm  of  locusts 
has  settled,  every  woman  and  child  in  the  village  turns  out  to 
catch  them. 

My  men  were  all  very  busy  catching  locusts  by  the  hand- 
ful, toasting  them  on  the  fire,  and  eating  them  with  evident 
relish.  My  Arab  servant  was  munching  some  when  I  drew 
near.  With  true  Arab  politeness  he  at  once  invited  me  to 
share  in  the  feast.    I  always  like  to  try  a  native  dish,  and  I 


IN  A  SOUDANESE  VILLAGE. 


150  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


accepted.  Wings  and  legs  are  apparently  removed  before  the 
toasting  begins  ;  the  long  soft  body  and  the  crisp  head  form 
the  delicacy.  I  determined  not  to  let  my  European  prejudices 
influence  me,  but  to  give  the  dish  of  grilled  locusts  a  fair 
trial.  I  thought  how,  nearly  1900  years  ago,  John  the  Baptist 
had  enjoyed  them  plus  wild  honey.  The  one  I  was  eating 
was  rather  nice.  I  agreed  with  my  Arab  servant  that,  should 
the  meat  supply  fall  short,  a  dish  of  locusts  would  be  a  very 
enjoyable  substitute.  By  the  time  I  was  eating  the  second 
locust,  it  seemed  to  me  absurd  why  one  should  have  a  sort  of 
lurking  pity  for  John  the  Baptist's  daily  menu,  unless  it  be  for 
its  monotony ;  and  I  felt  convinced  that  I  should  get  tired  of 
honey  sooner  than  I  should  of  locusts.  I  could  think  of  no 
other  objection  against  a  daily  dish  of  locusts  but  the  one 
which  caused  the  Scotchman  to  resent  the  daily  serving  out 
to  him  of  fresh  salmon  as  rations.  I  was  getting  on  splen- 
didly, and  enjoying  myself,  philosophising  the  while,  when 
my  Arab  boy,  smacking  his  lips,  said,  "  Delicious !  Full  of 
eggs!"  Now,  a  shrimp  or  bloater  "full  of  eggs"  is  not  half 
bad,  but  a  locust  full  of  eggs  !  Phew !  My  appetite  was 
gone,  and  I  did  not  feel  inclined  for  more  locusts,  at  any  rate 
that  day. 

At  Kitanvva,  in  Unyoro,  the  locusts  arrived  in  their  count- 
less millions,  and  I  noticed  that  the  Soudanese  soldiers  worked 
hard  to  scare  these  devourers  off  their  potato-patches  and  corn- 
fields, by  waving  branches  and  by  moving  about  among  their 
crops.  They  showed  in  this  respect  a  superior  intelligence  to 
the  apathetic  Lur  and  Wanyoro,  who  remain  sitting  and  look- 
ing on  indolently,  whilst  their  crops  are  being  ruined  before  their 
very  eyes — not  an  effort  being  made  by  them  to  scare  off  even  a 
small  swarm  of  locusts.  The  Soudanese  could  only  make  the 
locusts  "  move  on,"  so  to  speak ;  when  a  large  swarm  has  once 
settled,  it  will  scarcely  stir,  and  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  drive 
it  on  to  the  adjoining  jungle.  One  has  to  witness  the  destruc- 
tion caused  by  a  large  swarm  in  order  to  get  even  a  faint 
conception  of  the  appearance  of  the  ruined  fields  and  planta- 
tions. A  field  of  green  tender  corn  is  left  bleak  and  bare,  the 
corn  being  eaten  up  to  the  very  roots.  A  flourishing  banana 
plantation  looks  as  if  a  sudden  blight  had  struck  it ;  the 
gaunt  stems  remain,  with  the  bare  mid-ribs  of  the  leaves 
sticking  out. 


THE  SOUDANESE 


More  than  once  have  I  had  to  act  as  paymaster  to 
the  troops ;  and  at  Kitanwa  I  had  the  duty  of  dealing  out 
a  treble  payment  to  the  garrison  :  first,  to  serve  out  the 
monthly  rations  :  then,  to  issue  the  monthly  pay ;  lastly, 
to  measure  out  the  half-yearly  allowance  of  clothing,  which 
consisted  of  five  yards  of  "  americani "  and  four  yards  of 
"bombay"  to  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  and 
six  yards  of  American  drill  to  the  officers.  For  measur- 
ing out,  the  "  yard-stick"  was  used;  but  for  the  first  two 
payments  I  had  to  use  the  "  rupee-stick,"  so  called  because 
it  measured  off  a  quantity  of  cloth  representing  one  rupee 
in  value. 

The  men  have  to  be  their  own  tailors,  and  it  is  aston- 
ishing what  neat  white  uniforms  they  can  produce.  The 
thread  they  obtain  by  unravelling  a  long  narrow  strip 
of  "  americani "  cotton  -  cloth,  or,  more  economically,  by 
spinning  it  for  themselves  out  of  cotton  from  the  nearest 
cotton-plant. 

At  Fajao  I  came  upon  a  Soudanese  corporal  solemnly 
spinning  cotton-thread  for  his  tailoring  work.  He  was  much 
too  engrossed  to  no- 
tice anybody  or  any- 
thing. Remembering 
the  unflinching  brav- 
ery with  which  these 
Soudanese  meet  death 
on  the  battle-field, 
this  scene  recalls  the 
veteran  greybeards  of 
Napoleon  I.'s  army, 
knitting  stockings  with 
the  musket  by  their 
side.  The  corporal 
was  holding  in  his 
left  hand  a  small  Soudanese  corporal  spinning  cotton-thread. 
amount  of  raw  cotton- 
wool. The  spinner,  shaped  like  a  top,  has  a  slender  quill-like 
prolongation  which  points  downwards,  and  which  has  to  be 
twirled  from  time  to  time.  What  looks  like  the  body  of 
the  top  is  really  a  certain  quantity  of  white  cotton-thread 
already  spun  and  wound  up.    The    last   bit  of  the  spun- 


152 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


thread  is  hitched  into  a  tiny  notch  on  the  upper  rim  of  the 
spinner  ;  and  the  terminal  end,  thus  secured,  passes  upwards 
on  to  the  loose  cotton-fibres  which  are  yet  to  be  spun.  When 
about  a  foot  of  thread  has  been  spun,  it  is  liberated  from  the 
notch  and  wound  up  on  the  body  of  the  spinner.  The  terminal 
end  of  the  thread  is  then  replaced  in  the  notch.  The  spinning 
may  thus  be  discontinued  at  a  moment's  notice,  or  it  may  be 
continued  as  long  as  the  supply  of  cotton-wool  holds  out. 

Wherever  a  Soudanese  settlement  is  formed,  within  a  short 
time  cotton-plants  will  be  found  growing  wild  in  the  fields  or  in 
the  neighbourhood,  owing  to  scattered  seeds.  Cotton  thrives  in 
the  Uganda  Protectorate.  When  the  Uganda  railway  is  com- 
pleted, provided  the  transport  rates  on  raw  cotton  from  Uganda 
to  the  coast  are  made  so  as  to  encourage  enterprise  in  the  direc- 
tion of  cotton  production,  the  cotton-planter  may  probably  find 
it  worth  his  while  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  capabilities  of 
Uganda. 

Until  I  saw  lofty  cotton-trees,  with  tall  straight  stems,  at 
Parumbira,  a  place  on  the  north-east  end  of  Lake  Nyassa,  1 
was  unaware  that  cotton-trees  and  cotton-plants  are  two  dif- 
ferent things.  The  cotton-tree  has  no  value  whatever,  whereas 
without  the  cotton-plant  the  human  race  would  suffer.  The 
reason  is  obvious  :  the  tree  requires  years  to  become  a  fruit- 
bearing  tree  ;  the  cotton-plant  is  a  shrub,  which  in  favour- 
able localities  grows  up  in  a  few  months  and  then  flourishes 
like  a  weed.  I  collected  from  the  fallen  pods  at  the  foot  of 
the  cotton-trees  at  Parumbira,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few 
natives  and  on  payment  of  a  few  strings  of  beads,  sufficient 
cotton-wool  to  make  myself  a  mattrass  and  two  pillows.  The 
pillows  served  me  through  the  whole  of  my  overland  journey 
from  Lake  Nyassa  to  Kilwa. 

A  large  cotton-shrub  covered  with  ripe  cotton  gleams  as  if 
covered  with  snow-flakes.  As  the  green  pods  ripen,  they  split 
into  three  and  gape.  As  the  peel  dries  up,  three  fluffy  snow- 
white  masses  of  cotton-wool  like  silk- cocoons  protrude  and 
invite  the  passer-by  to  gather  them.  A  number  of  seeds  are 
wrapped  up  inside  each  cocoon. 

Soudanese  settlements  are  everywhere  laid  out  on  the  same 
general  lines,  and  the  one  at  Kibero  may  serve  as  an  illustra- 
tion. From  a  distance  the  settlement  looks  like  a  square  en- 
closure.   On  drawing  nearer  to  it,  one  sees  that  this  enclosure 


THE  SOUDANESE 


1S3 


is  cut  up  into  a  number  of  smaller  squares  by  straight  narrow 
roads  which  intersect  each  other  at  right  angles.  If  one  of  these 
smaller  squares  is  still  too  large  for  one  family,  further  sub- 
division takes  place  by  means  of  reed-fences.  Thus  every 
household  has  its  own  enclosure,  in  which  to  erect  the  hut  or 
huts  necessary  for  its  comfort,  and  it  has  also  its  own  private 
open-air  sanitary  convenience  dug  and  fenced  off.  The  en- 
closure is  kept  clean,  ashes  and  rubbish  being  swept  up  and 
carried  outside  the  settlement,  where  in  course  of  time  they  form 


THE  SOUDANESE  SETTLEMENT  AT  KIBERO. 


rubbish-heaps  of  considerable  size.  Reed-fences  are  usually 
constructed  of  the  stems  of  elephant-grass  ;  but  they  require 
constant  renewing,  unless  the  stems  are  planted  for  a  few  inches 
into  the  ground,  when  very  often  they  strike  root  and  sprout  up 
into  a  living  fence.  The  roads  which  intersect  the  settlement  are 
sometimes  rather  narrow,  but  on  the  whole  are  kept  fairly  clean. 

The  Soudanese  do  not  seem  to  care  to  become  domestic 
servants  ;  when  they  are  young  their  parents  have  need  of  their 
services,  and  when  they  are  adults  they  prefer  to  be  independent. 
Two  young  lads  accompanied  my  caravan  to  the  coast  in  1895. 
One  of  these  lads  I  recognised  in  my  caravan  in  1898.  I 
enquired  what  had  become  of  his  companion  "  Haggenas," 


J54 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


and  I  was  told,  that  Haggenas  deserted  to  join  the  mutineers. 
The  desertion  cost  his  life  ;  for  the  mutineers  mistook  his  in- 
tention, and  shot  him  dead,  before  he  had  time  to  explain. 
1  have  only  once  had  a  Soudanese  as  a  "boy"  ;  he  was  taken 
on  as  an  extra  hand,  as  I  had  four  servants  already.  A 
native  officer  at  Masindi  brought  him  to  me  with  the  words, 
that  this  was  the  best  lad  in  the  settlement.  I  know  I  am  rather 
liable  to  be  influenced  by  first  impressions,  and  this  lad's 
appearance  was  certainly  not  prepossessing.  He  appeared 
before  me  naked,  with  the  exception  of  the  tiniest  imaginable 
loin-cloth,  he  also  habituallv  screwed  up  his  eyes,  imparting  to 
his  face  a  most  sinister  expression. 

Mentally  I  put  him  down  as  a  rirst-rate  rogue  ;  but  in 
presence  of  the  native  officer's  eulogies,  and  unwilling  to  con- 
demn a  lad  in  destitute  circumstances  merely  upon  personal 
prejudice  at  first  sight,  I  admitted,  though  with  considerable 
hesitation,  this  treasure  to  my  household.  Of  course  I  had  to 
issue  to  him  at  once  a  sufficient  amount  of  cloth  to  dress 
himself  properly.  Scarcely  had  he  entered  my  service,  when 
I  missed  my  penknife,  and  as  I  had  never  lost  anything  with 
the  other  servants,  I  could  not  help  suspecting  the  new-comer. 
Living  in  bachelor  style,  one  is  necessarily  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  one's  servants  in  these  distant  regions.  I  may  have  been 
hitherto  particularly  fortunate  ;  but  I  have  scarcely  ever  lost 
anything  through  the  dishonestv  of  a  "  boy,"  though  I  have 
lost  more  than  one  load  owing  to  a  dishonest  porter  absconding 
with  it  on  the  journey. 

My  companion  at  Masindi  had  a  Soudanese  servant  whom 
he  had  to  send  to  prison  for  selling  his  socks.  Stolen  socks 
are  difficult  to  dispose  of,  because  natives  go  barefoot  ;  but 
knives  of  every  description  are  in  great  demand.  What  more  I 
might  have  lost  I  do  not  know,  if  just  then  I  had  not  had  to  go 
to  Fovira,  where  my  new  acquisition  was  recognised  by  some 
Swahili  traders.  I  now  found  out,  that  this  broth  of  a  boy  had 
just  completed  a  term  of  imprisonment  for  malicious  arson,  by 
which  these  very  traders  had  lost  heavily.  Whether  it  was  this 
discovery,  or  the  strict  watch  I  kept  upon  his  movements,  but 
my  Soudanese  lad  suddenly  requested  to  join  his  father  who,  it 
appears,  was  one  of  the  Fovira  garrison.  I  promptly  gratified 
the  filial  request  by  parting  with  the  boy  on  the  spot,  although 
he  had  got  a  new  suit  of  clothing  out  of  me  but  a  couple  of  days 


THE  SOUDANESE 


1SS 


ago.  A  month  or  so  later,  he  turned  up  again  at  Masindi  in  his 
former  naked  condition,  with  a  story  of  cruelty  against  his 
father  whom  he  accused  of  stripping  him  of  his  new  suit  of 
clothes.  He  begged  me  to  take  him  on  again  as  a  servant.  This 
being  refused,  he  tried  unsuccessfully  to  get  my  Arab  servant 
to  take  him  on  for  daily  rations  without  wages.  Since  then 
I  have  not  been  very  keen  to  try  another  Soudanese  lad  as  a 
domestic  servant. 

We  were  at  Ufumb  in  Unyoro  when  my  companion,  the 
military  officer  in  command  of  the  district,  received  news  that 


THE  SOUDANESE  CAPTAIN,   SURUR  EFFENDI,   AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

ex-king  Mwanga  of  Uganda  had  escaped  from  German  con- 
trol, had  re-entered  British  territory,  and  was  supposed  to  be 
working  his  way  towards  Unyoro.  Consequently,  on  reach- 
ing Fovira,  my  companion  remained  but  one  day  to  pay  the 
troops,  and  then  left  for  Mruli,  the  frontier  station  of  Unyoro. 

That  same  night  some  alarming  symptoms  showed  them- 
selves, of  the  effect  the  mutiny  in  Uganda  was  having  on  our 
Soudanese  soldiers  in  Unyoro.  My  companion,  before  he  left 
me,  had  mentioned  to  me  that  Surur  Effendi,  the  Soudanese 
captain,  had  reported  Farijalla  Dongolawi  Effendi,  his  first  lieu- 
tenant, as  being  disloyal.  My  companion  had  thereupon  re- 
quested that  witnesses  should  be  brought  forward  to  substantiate 


156  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  charge  ;  but  Surur  Effendi  would  not  venture  on  such  a 
step  in  presence  of  the  mutinous  spirit  which  he  knew  per- 
vaded his  troop. 

Scarcely  had  my  companion  left,  when  the  Soudanese  called 
a  mass-meeting  for  the  night,  being  summoned  together  with 
the  call,  "  Number  one  fall  in."  I  remember  I  was  roused 
out  of  my  sleep  and  heard  the  words  ;  but  I  thought  I  must 
be  dreaming,  and  I  fell  asleep  again.  When  my  Arab  boy 
repeated  the  words  to  me  next  morning,  I  at  once  remembered 
that  I  too  had  heard  the  call  in  the  night.  At  this  mass-meet- 
ing they  publicly  discussed  putting  my  companion  to  death 
and  seizing  me.  I  was  not  to  be  put  to  death,  either  because 
they  did  not  hate  me,  or  because  they  wished  to  secure  my 
medical  services.  At  any  rate,  my  lot  was  to  have  been  cap- 
tivity in  their  midst.  My  captivity  would  no  doubt  sooner  or 
later  have  ended  in  my  being  murdered  ;  for  Major  Thruston 
and  his  two  unfortunate  companions  at  Luba's  were  not  mas- 
sacred straight  off,  but  were  first  made  prisoners  and  subse- 
quently murdered. 

The  Unyoro  Soudanese  were  fully  aware  of  all  that  was 
happening  in  Uganda.  They  had  just  heard  that  the  muti- 
neers, originally  hemmed  in  at  Luba's,  had  broken  through, 
had  crossed  the  Nile,  had  landed  in  Uganda  Proper,  and 
were  making  their  way  towards  Unyoro,  where  the  great 
bulk  of  the  Soudanese  happened  to  be  stationed.  The  Fovira 
garrison  apparently  felt  inclined  to  throw  in  their  lot  with 
the  mutineers,  their  own  kindred  and  relatives.  The  dis- 
loyal officer  was  said  to  be  the  first  lieutenant,  Farijalla 
Dongolawi  Effendi.  But  Surur  Effendi,  the  captain,  refused 
to  give  his  consent  to  the  soldiers  making  me  a  prisoner  there 
and  then.  He  warned  them,  that  if  they  attempted  to  lay  their 
hands  on  me,  he  would  get  me  into  a  boat  and  accompany  me 
down  the  Nile,  leaving  his  wives  and  children  to  follow  overland 
or  in  other  boats  as  best  they  could.  This  determined  attitude 
of  the  captain  saved  my  companion  from  death,  me  from 
captivity,  and  in  all  probability  saved  the  various  Soudanese 
garrisons  in  Unyoro  from  irretrievably  linking  their  fate  with 
the  mutineers. 

How  serious  and  critical  the  situation  was  on  this  night, 
may  be  gathered  from  the  fact,  that  all  my  porters,  Lendus 
and  Swahilies,  fled  for  safety  to  the  woods  and  passed  the 


THE  SOUDANESE 


157 


night  in  the  trees.  They  cautiously  returned  next  morning 
on  finding  that  I  was  still  alive  and  at  liberty.  Some  of  my 
Lendu  porters  had  overheard  the  talk  of  putting  the  white  men 
to  death  ;  their  terror  had  communicated  itself  to  my  Swahili 
porters,  and  so  they  all  had  fled.  None  of  them  could  have 
assisted  me,  or  even  warned  me ;  for  I  slept  inside  the  fort 
which  was  guarded,  as  usual,  by  Soudanese  sentinels  on  duty 
at  the  gates.  Neither  had  I  a  single  one  of  my  servants  with 
me  ;  they,  too,  retired  at  night  to  a  hut  which  was  outside 
the  fort. 

Next  morning  I  saw  these  two  officers  walking  together 
down  the  broad  avenue  which  leads  to  the  fort,  and  I  had  my 
chance  of  taking  a  snap-shot  photo.  Surur  Effendi,  however, 
did  not  like  having  been  photographed  in  every-day  working 
costume.  I  had  to  promise  to  take  him  in  his  best  uniform, 
surrounded  by  his  wives  and  children,  and  in  front  of  his  own 
house.  I  made  him  doubly  happy  by  giving  him  a  copy  of 
the  latter  photo.  Of  course  I  reported  the  news  of  these  alarm- 
ing events  at  once,  that  very  morning,  to  the  officer  at  Mruli. 
In  the  letter  I  mentioned,  that  as  I  wTas  still  at  liberty,  I 
would  endeavour  to  escape  to  Masindi  and  await  his  further 
instructions  there.  But  thinking  the  matter  over,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion,  that  I  might  do  more  good  by  remaining  on  the 
spot,  and  thereby  supporting  by  my  presence  Surur  Effendi's 
noble  effort  to  suppress  the  mutinous  spirit  among  the  soldiers. 
I  therefore  remained,  and  attended  to  my  medical  duties,  as  if 
no  disloyal  meeting  had  taken  place  the  previous  night. 

At  Fovira  it  has  to  be  open-air  doctoring,  as  there  is  no 
hospital.  Should  it  rain,  I  see  the  patients  in  the  small  ad- 
joining hut,  where  I  also  inquire  into  such  cases  as  have  to  be 
seen  in  private.  The  gathering  shown  in  the  illustration  is  a  fair 
sample  of  an  ordinary  morning's  work  among  the  Soudanese, 
their  women,  and  children.  This  lot  done  with,  I  attended 
Swahilies  and  Lendus,  and  wound  up  by  treating  such  of  the 
native  Wanyoro  population  as  chose  to  apply.  Urgent  cases, 
of  course,  are  treated  at  once,  and  take  precedence.  I  have 
to  act  on  the  principle  of  "  no  admittance  except  on  busi- 
ness," in  order  to  prevent  gaping  crowds  of  the  curious  from 
gathering  around  us. 

The  following  day  I  called  Surur  Effendi  and  Farijalla 
Effendi  to  my  room,  and  I  then  told  Farijalla  Effendi  what  I 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


had  heard  of  his  disloyal  doings.  Of  course  he  denied  every- 
thing, and  professed  to  be  ready  to  swear  on  the  Koran  that 
he  was  loyal.  I  said  I  would  accept  his  assurance,  but  that  I 
had  spoken  thus  openly  to  him  on  the  subject,  in  order  that 
he  might  judge  by  the  fact  of  my  having  remained  at  Fovira, 
that  I  was  not  afraid  of  him  or  of  any  disloyal  act  he  might 
be  meditating.  I  asked  both  officers  to  call  the  soldiers  together, 
and  to  ascertain  openly  whether  they  were  prepared  to  remain 
loyal,  and  to  warn  all  the  men  not  to  follow  the  bad  example 
set  by  the  mutineers  in  Uganda,  as  the  mutineers  were  bound 
to  be  crushed  before  long  by  the  overwhelming  power  of  the 
white  man.  This  was  done,  and  I  believe  it  had  a  very  good 
effect. 

In  a  day  or  two  the  disloyal  Effendi  was  summoned  to 
proceed  under  escort  to  headquarters ;  and  when  I  arrived 
at  Misindi,  I  found  he  had  been  promptly  imprisoned.  That 
the  disloyal  spirit  had  not  disappeared,  I  found  out  by  a  con- 
versation of  the  Soudanese  soldiers  forming  my  escort  on  the 
return  journey  to  Masindi.  My  companion,  when  he  left  me 
at  Fovira,  had  taken  the  Maxim  gun  away  with  him.  The 
soldiers,  talking  this  over  by  the  camp-fire,  declared  that  any 
attempt  made  by  the  white  man  to  take  away  the  only  other 
gun  remaining  at  the  fort  would  be  resisted  by  them  openly 
and  by  force. 

The  road  from  Fovira  to  Masindi  was  rather  dangerous  at 
this  time,  being  raided  by  hostile  hordes,  led  by  the  son  of 
ex-king  Kabarega.  At  "  Kaligire "  we  heard  that  the  enemy 
had  raided  a  village  only  three  hours  off,  and  had  killed  twelve 
of  our  friendlies.  Next  day  at  "  Kiorbezi "  we  heard  that  the 
enemy  had  passed  the  previous  night,  and  had  killed  the  chief 
of  the  village.  The  following  day,  the  17th  of  January  1898, 
I  arrived  at  Masindi  ;  and  what  happened  there  the  same 
evening,  I  am  not  likely  to  forget  very  soon. 

I  found  a  letter  for  me  from  the  commanding  military 
officer,  away  at  the  time  at  Mruli,  requesting  me  to  take  charge 
of  the  fort.  The  Armenian  clerk  informed  me  in  the  afternoon 
that  a  letter  had  to  be  sent  to  Fovira,  and  accordingly  three 
armed  friendlies  were  sent  off  with  it.  I  may  say  at  once  that 
next  day  two  only  of  these  men  returned  alive  ;  they  had  been 
met  and  attacked  by  the  enemy  who  killed  one,  but  the  two 
others  made  good  their  escape  back  to  our  fort.    I  have  there- 


I 


THE  SOUDANESE 


1S9 


fore  reason  to  feel  thankful,  that  when  I  travelled  the  very  same 
road  on  the  preceding  day  I  met  with  no  mishap. 

On  this  evening  the  Wanyoro  chief  Bekamba  was  murdered 
by  the  Soudanese.  He  was  one  of  the  six  great  chiefs  of 
Unyoro,  and  he  ruled  over  the  district  around  Masindi.  His 
kraal  was  only  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  fort.  I  often  saw 
him,  when  he  paid  a  state  visit  to  the  officer  in  command.  He 
was  an  old  man  with  a  small  curly  grey  beard.  As  he  was 
infirm  on  one  leg,  the  British  Government  had  made  him  a 
present  of  the  two-wheeled  hand-cart  shown  in  the  illustration. 
He  was  very  proud  of  this  vehicle,  his  state-carriage,  and 
always  rode  in 
it.  He  would 
call  at  the 
office,  leaning 
on  his  long 
staff.  When 
seated  in  his 
state  -  carriage, 
he  always  car- 
ried a  fly-whip 
in  his  right 
hand  and  a 
long    pipe  in 

his  left.  I  made  bekamba,  the  wanyoro  chief,  in  his  state-carriage. 
his  acquaint- 
ance in  rather  a  curious  way,  and  our  first  meeting  greatly 
impressed  me  in  his  favour.  I  was  out  for  a  walk,  and 
passing  near  a  kraal  I  inquired  of  the  door-keeper  the  way 
to  the  nearest  spot  for  water  and  whether  it  was  a  river 
or  a  swamp.  The  man  hurriedly  went  in  and,  to  my  sur- 
prise, an  old  gentlemanly  negro,  dressed  in  white,  came 
limping  out  on  his  staff,  carrying  a  bowl  of  water  in  his  hand. 
I  could  see  at  a  glance  that  he  was  some  great  man,  but  I  had 
no  idea  it  was  Bekamba  himself,  the  supreme  chief  of  the 
district.  He  had  misunderstood  his  servant ;  he  thought  I  had 
asked  for  some  water  to  drink,  and  so  he  had  brought  it  in  his 
own  hand,  though  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  servants  and  of 
smaller  chiefs. 

The  circumstance  brings  forcibly  to  one's  mind  the  Patriarchs 
who,  with  true   Eastern  courtesy,  personally  waited  on  the 


i6o 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


stranger  wayfaring  past  their  dwelling  !  I  can  never  think  of 
Bekamba  without  recalling  his  noble  and  courteous  bearing  on 
that  first  occasion,  and  I  was  sorry  when  I  heard  subsequently 
that  grave  doubts  were  entertained  as  to  his  loyalty  to  our 
Government.  But  we  must  remember,  that  he  was  an  old 
man,  and  that  he  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  love  the 
conquering  white  man  who  had  reduced  his  country  from  an 
independent  kingdom  to  a  mere  province  of  the  Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate. Much  of  his  own  authority  had  necessarily  vanished 
by  these  changes,  and  his  king,  Kabarega,  was  a  fugitive  and 
an  exile.  Furthermore,  his  own  children  were  in  Kabarega's 
power,  and  held  by  that  ruthless  savage  as  hostages  for  their 
father's  good  behaviour;  Kabarega  keeping  the  threat  hanging 
over  poor  Bekamba's  head,  that  his  children  might  any  day  be 
mutilated  or  killed. 

When  I  arrived  on  the  17th  of  January  at  Masindi,  I  noticed 
premonitory  signs  that  some  terrible  events  were  about  to 
happen.  We  had  at  Masindi  a  number  of  armed  WTaganda 
soldiers,  our  friendly  allies.  They  had  been  sent  by  the  Pro- 
testant Prime  Minister  of  Uganda  with  the  consent  of  the 
British  Government.  The  Waganda  soldiers  took  duty  in  turns 
with  the  Soudanese.  As  long  as  one  of  us  wihte  men  was  at 
Masindi,  the  Waganda  felt  supported  and  remained  with  us  ; 
but  what  made  them  decamp  in  a  hurry  during  our  absence 
from  Masindi,  I  do  not  know,  unless  they  had  some  inkling  of 
the  bloodshed  about  to  happen.  The  fact  remains,  that  when 
I  arrived  at  Masindi,  all  our  armed  Waganda  had  secretly  fled  ; 
and  some  of  the  Lendus  too  had  run  away,  taking  their  families 
and  belongings  with  them. 

At  this  time  the  fate  of  us  two  white  men — we  were  but  two 
in  Unyoro — was  trembling  in  the  balance.  That  others  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate  thought  so  too,  would  appear  from  the 
English  missionaries  at  Kampala  assuring  me  that  we  were 
especially  remembered  by  them  in  their  daily  prayers.  I  am 
convinced,  that  if  a  single  mutineer  had  succeeded  in  personally 
appearing  in  Unyoro,  this  province  would  have  been  lost,  for  a 
time  at  least,  to  the  British  Government,  and  it  would  have 
entailed  hard  fighting  to  reconquer  it.  We  did  not  know 
what  moment  one  or  all  of  the  Unyoro  garrisons  might  declare 
openly  in  favour  of  their  brothers  and  relatives  who  were  in 
open  mutiny  in  Uganda,  and  who  had  murdered  three  white 


THE  SOUDANESE 


161 


men  and  had  killed  three  more  in  the  subsequent  sanguinary 
tights.  That  the  Soudanese  in  Unyoro  were  in  heart  with  the 
mutineers,  we  had  many  instances  to  convince  us  of — the  disloyal 
meeting  at  Fovira,  discussing  murdering  one  of  us  and  imprison- 
ing the  other ;  the  difficulty  that  the  commanding  officer  had 
experienced  in  getting  a  Fajao  contingent  to  bring  one  of  their 
Suns  into  the  fort  at  Masindi ;  the  flat  refusal  of  the  Soudanese 
officer  in  command  at  Hoima  to  obey  the  order  of  the  com- 
manding officer  to  guard  the  western  crossing  of  the  Kafu  river 
against  the  approach  of  the  mutineers  ;  the  complaint  of  Waganda 
friendlies  that  one  of  the  Soudanese  officers  at  Mruli  had  taunted 
them,  and  had  told  them  that  the  Waganda  were  a  bad  lot  for 
helping  the  white  man  against  the  Soudanese,  and  that  they 
ought  to  let  the  white  man  and  the  mutineers  fight  it  out  by 
themselves. 

The  feeling  of  insecurity  and  impending  disaster  seemed 
present  with  ever}'  one  ;  for  my  four  servants,  who  sleep  in 
huts  outside 
the  fort  at 
Masindi,  came 
to  me  in  a 
body  and  asked 
permission  to 
sleep  this  night 
inside  the  fort 
and  near  me.  I 
gave,  of  course, 
a  ready  assent. 

Darkness  had 
set  in,  and  1 
was  in  my  hut 
— the  medical 
officer's  resi- 

THE  MEDICAL  OFFICER'S  RESIDENCE  AT  MASINDI. 

dence — in  the 
fort  at  Masindi, 

entering  in  a  diary  by  candlelight,  the  events  of  the  day.  This  hut 
consists  of  mud-walls,  a  grass-thatched  roof,  a  mud-floor,  two 
apertures  serving  as  windows  and  closed  by  wooden  shutters,  and 
a  wooden  door.  It  was  overrun  by  white-ants,  spiders,  and  rats. 
It  leaked  so  badly,  that  whenever  a  good  heavy  rain  came  down, 
I  had  to  place  a  pail  on  each  side  of  my  camp-bed  to  catch  the 

L 


162  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


descending  trickle  ;  and  though  by  good  luck  it  did  not  come 
down  on  the  top  of  my  bed,  it  did  on  the  top  of  my  camp- 
table  which  I  had  to  move  to  prevent  the  raindrops  from  splash- 
ing all  over  the  room. 

Suddenly  at  8.30  P.M.  two  men  came  running  into  my  room 
— Fadlemula  Effendi,  the  Soudanese  officer  in  command,  and 
the  headman  of  Kajanga,  our  Wanyoro  ally.  Both  men  were 
armed.  The  Effendi  hurriedly  told  me  that  the  Soudanese 
sergeant-major,  when  doing  his  round  of  patrol  inspection, 
had  been  set  upon  by  hostile  Wanyoro  and  had  been  killed  by 
a  spear-thrust  in  the  back.  As  I  turned  to  get  my  Martini  rifle 
and  a  lantern,  the  Effendi  rushed  away,  and  I  did  not  see  him 
again  till  after  the  occurrence  of  the  subsequent  sad  events.  As  I 
hurried  towards  the  entrance  of  the  fort  I  was  accompanied  by  the 
Armenian  clerk  and  by  my  servants,  my  plucky  little  Wahima 
boy  keeping  close  to  my  side  and  carrying  my  rifle  for  me  ;  my 
Arab  servant  had  armed  himself  with  my  second  rifle.  Before 
I  could  reach  the  entrance,  I  was  met  by  a  rush  of  armed 
Soudanese  soldiers  and  completely  surrounded  by  them  near 
the  corn-stores  inside  the  fort. 

These  corn-stores  consist  of  huge  wicker  baskets,  plastered 
on  the  inside  and  on  the  outside  with  mud  ;  they  are  raised  above 
the  ground  on  wooden  trestles  about  two  feet  high  ;  and  they  are 
protected  against  sun  and  rain  by  a  grass-thatched  cover  re- 
sembling a  candle-extinguisher.  Dry  food,  such  as  Indian- 
corn,  is  stored  up  in  this  manner  in  anticipation  of  unforeseen 
occurrences. 

Nearly  all  the  Soudanese  soldiers  at  the  time  at  Masindi  were 
raw  recruits.  When  they  surrounded  me,  they  were  mad  with 
excitement.  They  had  refused  to  listen  to  their  officer's  voice, 
and  had  rushed  into  the  fort  against  his  direct  orders.  All  their 
rifles  were  loaded  and  were  pointed  at  me.  They  were  shouting 
angrilv,  but  as  I  did  not  understand  one  word,  I  was  fortunately 
able  to  remain  unmoved.  My  Arab,  however,  understood,  and 
he  said  to  me  in  Swahili :  "  Master,  get  back  to  the  house;  they 
mean  to  do  you  some  harm."  Even  if  I  had  wanted  to  retreat,  I 
could  not  have  done  so,  as  I  was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides.  It  is 
surprising,  that  one  of  the  rifles  in  all  this  pushing  and  surging 
crowd  did  not  go  off  by  accident  and  stretch  me  dead.  A 
merciful  Providence  saved  my  life,  and  saved  thereby  the  whole 
of  Unyoro  ;  for  my  death  would  have  committed  the  men,  once 


THE  SOUDANESE 


163 


for  all,  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  the  mutineers  and  to  fight 
to  the  bitter  end  against  the  avenging  hand  of  England's  might, 
which  was  already  overtaking  the  other  murderers.  I  felt  that  I 
was  appreciably  near  death,  for  the  bearing  of  the  soldiers  was 
most  menacing. 

Fortunately,  the  Effendi's  voice  was  heard  shouting  over  and 
over  again  :  "  It  is  not  war  against  the  fort."  This  no  doubt 
helped  to  save  us  and  the  fort.  None  of  the  soldiers  seemed  to 
know  exactly  what  was  to  be  the  next  step,  and  whether  or  not  it 
was  to  be  open  mutiny  against  the  Government.  They  had  not 
yet  quite  made  up  their  minds  whether  I  was  to  be  killed.  Pre- 
sumably no  one  had  a  private  grudge  to  avenge  on  my  person, 
and  not  a  few  of  them  may  have  been  at  one  time  or  another 
under  my  hands  for  medical  treatment.  I  endeavoured  to  get 
them  under  control  by  pointing  out  that  the  fort  had  to  be 
defended  against  the  supposed  common  enemy.  Gradually  I 
regained  some  authority  over  them,  and  they  obeyed  me  so  far, 
that  they  went  to  guard  various  positions  which  I  indicated,  such 
as  the  bastions,  the  powder  magazine,  and  the  ammunition  store. 
But  when  I  wanted  to  leave  the  fort,  to  attend  to  what  was 
happening  outside,  they  firmly  but  politely  refused  to  let  me 
out,  on  pretext  that  my  life  would  be  in  danger.  For  a  short 
time  I  was  practically  a  prisoner  inside  the  fort  in  the  hands  of 
the  Soudanese  soldiers. 

In  the  meanwhile  a  number  of  shots  were  being  fired  outside 
the  fort,  and  the  sky  had  become  lurid  with  burning  huts.  The 
first  rumour,  as  brought  to  me  by  Fadlemula  Effendi,  that  the 
sergeant-major  had  been  killed  by  Wanyoro  at  Bekamba's  kraal, 
no  doubt  led  to  the  insubordinate  soldiers  attacking  Bekamba. 
The  unfortunate  chief  requested  to  be  taken  to  the  fort,  and  had 
reached  in  his  cart  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  fort,  when 
some  of  the  soldiers  ordered  the  man  who  pulled  Bekamba's  cart 
to  lie  down  and  submit  to  a  flogging.  Knowing  that  resistance 
was  vain,  the  poor  fellow  lay  down,  and  then  some  one  shot 
him  through  the  back,  dead  on  the  spot.  Thereupon  another 
soldier  blew  out  Bekamba's  brains.  The  dead  bodies  were 
plundered  and  stripped. 

When  the  Effendi  joined  me,  I  managed  with  him  to  leave 
the  fort,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  disturbances  going  on  out- 
side. The  burning  kraals  had  made  the  night  as  light  as  day.  A 
dreadful  sight  met  my  eyes.    There,  near  the  fort,  lay  the  naked 


164  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


bodies  of  chief  Bekamba  and  of  one  of  his  men.  Some  wretches 
had  set  fire  to  Bekamba's  body,  and  the  flesh  was  burning.  As 
the  crackling  flames  flickered  round  the  abdomen,  the  frizzling 
of  the  flesh  was  horrible  and  sickening.  It  recalled  to  my  mind 
stories,  read  in  my  boyhood,  of  Red  Indians  torturing  a  white 
man  to  death  by  stretching  him  out  on  the  ground  and  heaping 
fire  on  to  his  abdomen.  With  the  assistance  of  my  servants  I 
pulled  Bekamba's  body  from  the  burning  brands  and  ex- 
tinguished the  flames.  I  looked  at  his  wounds.  Death  must 
have  been  instantaneous,  and  therefore  he  was  spared  the 
torture  of  being  roasted. 

The  kraal  of  Kajanga,  our  friendly  ally,  had  also  been  set  on 
fire  and  had  been  looted.  There  were  a  number  of  cartridges 
in  his  hut,  and  as  these  took  fire,  their  cracker-like  popping  off 
rendered  it  dangerous  to  approach  too  near  his  kraal.  Some 
of  the  bullets  fell  close  to  my  feet. 

I  now  asked  to  see  the  dead  body  of  the  sergeant-major, 
stated  to  have  been  killed  at  the  outbreak  of  these  disturbances. 

I  found  him 
lying  on  a 
couch  in  his 
o  w  n  hut, 
encircled  by 
a  sympathis- 
ing crowd 
of  women 
and  friends, 
all  waiting 
for  him  to 
breathe  his 
last.  Not 

three  of  the  wounded.  one   had  at- 

tempted to 

staunch  the  flow  of  blood  from  his  wound.  I  had  him  quickly 
removed  to  the  fort,  and  converted  one  of  the  buildings  into  a 
temporary  hospital.  Though  he  had  a  dangerous  spear-wound  in 
his  back  below  the  right  shoulder,  his  life  was  ultimately  saved. 

Two  other  wounded  were  then  brought  in.  One  man  had 
received  a  bullet  in  his  right  arm,  and  another  was  shot  through 
the  foot.  Later  on  came  a  woman  who  had  her  cheek  laid  open 
by  a  bullet,  and  I  had  to  dress  her  wound  and  stitch  up  her  cheek.. 


THE  SOUDANESE 


Having  attended  to  the  wounded,  and  more  or  less  restored 
order,  I  was  informed  by  the  Armenian  clerk  that  he  had  over- 
heard some  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to  other  stations  talking 
amongst  themselves  of  leaving  us  in  the  morning.  I  at  once 
went  out  to  these  men,  and  impressed  them  with  the  folly  and 
danger  of  such  an  act.  I  pointed  out  to  them  that  it  was  their 
duty  to  remain  ;  and  I  am  glad  to  say  they  listened  to  me  and 
did  not  leave  us. 

Next  morning  we  buried  the  dead — Bekamba,  one  of  his 
wives,  and  two  Wanyoro.  But  some  fugitives  carried  the 
news  of  these  occurrences  to  Hoima,  two  days'  march  from 
us,  where  a  Soudanese  captain  was  in  charge  of  the  fort. 
Yabuswezi,  the  great  Wanyoro  chief,  has  his  kraal  about  a 
mile  from  Fort  Hoima.  Some  fugitives  reported  to  him  that 
I  too  had  been  killed.  He  thereupon  put  himself  on  the 
defensive.  This  led  to  the  Soudanese  captain  ordering  him  to 
come  to  the  fort,  and,  on  his  refusal  to  do  so,  attacking  his  kraal. 
Thus  the  mere  rumour  of  my  death  led  to  further  bloodshed ; 
for  the  Soudanese  soldiers  killed  about  fifty  of  the  Wanyoro 
under  Yabuswezi,  captured  some  fifty-four  of  his  women,  and 
looted  and  burned  his  kraal.  Yabuswezi  himself  fled  over  the 
border,  with  the  intention  of  proceeding  to  Kampala. 

The  military  officer  in  command  of  Unyoro,  having  received 
my  letter,  speedily  joined  me.  Orders  were  also  received  from 
headquarters  that,  in  view  of  the  advance  of  the  mutineers 
towards  Unyoro,  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  Government 
ammunition  from  falling  into  their  hands.  I  was  ordered 
thereupon  to  march,  with  half  a  company  of  the  Soudanese 
soldiers  then  at  Masindi,  to  a  place  called  Ntuti,  in  Singo. 
I  was  to  take  charge  of  twenty-one  loads  of  ammunition,  a 
Maxim  gun,  and  tools  and  belts  for  the  gun.  The  two  locks 
of  the  Maxim  gun  I  hid  away  amongst  my  private  clothing  ; 
my  instructions  being  to  destroy  the  locks,  should  we  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  mutineers,  or  should  my  own  men  throw  off 
their  allegiance  to  the  British  Government. 

On  the  march  to  Ntuti  I  passed  through  Hoima,  and  found 
seven  of  the  Wanyoro  women  still  retained  as  captives  by 
Soudanese  soldiers,  although  orders  had  been  sent  by  the  com- 
manding officer  that  all  were  to  be  liberated.  I  therefore 
had  these  seven  women  set  free. 

I  met  Yabuswezi,  and  persuaded  him  to  return  to  his 
province. 


166  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


The  ostensible  reason  of  my  departure  from  Masindi  with 
the  half  company  of  Soudanese,  the  Maxim  gun,  and  the  ammu- 
nition, was  supposed  to  be  the  necessity  of  holding  Ntuti,  in 
Singo,  against  the  rebel  king  Mwanga.  We  arrived  at  Xtuti. 
In  a  couple  of  days  orders  from  headquarters  reached  me  to 
march  on  to  Kampala,  where  the  soldiers  were  promptly  dis- 
armed, and  the  Maxim  gun  and  ammunition  safely  lodged  in 
the  fort.  I  had  an  anxious  time  of  it  from  Masindi  to  Kampala. 
First  of  all,  because  the  soldiers  over  which  I  had  temporary 
command  were  some  of  the  men  who  a  few  days  previously 
had  murdered  Bekamba  and  had  endangered  my  own  life  ;  they 
were  at  heart  disloyal,  and  they  had  very  nearly  openly  mutinied. 
Secondly,  the  Maxim  gun  and  the  twenty-one  loads  of  ammuni- 
tion would  have  strengthened  the  mutineers  enormously,  if  they 
could  have  managed  to  intercept  me  on  the  march. 

It  was  a  great  relief  to  me  when,  on  arrival  at  Kampala,  my 
military  command  ended.  A  few  days  later  Captain  Harrison 
gained  a  final  success  over  the  mutineers,  which  practically 
ended  the  mutiny,  though  it  cost  the  life  of  one  more  Euro- 
pean, Captain  Moloney  who  was  dangerously  wounded  in  the 
attack  and  succumbed  to  his  injuries.  Captain  Fielding  and 
Captain  Macdonald  fell  in  the  earlier  engagements. 

Of  course  everybody  must  regret  the  occurrence  of  the 
mutiny,  with  its  accompaniment  of  bloodshed  and  destruction, 
but  it  is  doubly  to  be  regretted  as  the  Soudanese  seemed  ideal 
troops  for  a  country  like  Uganda.  Being  Africans,  the  Protec- 
torate was  a  natural  home  to  them  ;  being  aliens  in  the  country, 
they  had  no  sympathy  with  King  Mwanga  or  any  of  the  indigenous 
races  ;  being  Mohammedans,  their  creed  of  "Kismet"  or  "fate" 
made  them  dangerous  enemies  on  the  battlefield  ;  being  inured 
to  hardships,  they  could  live  on  native  produce  and  did  not 
require,  like  Indian  troops,  to  be  provided  with  special  articles 
of  diet ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  owing  to  their  many  wives 
and  followers,  they  looked  after  their  own  transport,  and  were 
ready  to  start  for  an  expedition  at  a  moment's  notice,  without 
requiring  any  special  preliminary  transport  arrangements. 

Rumours  of  the  narrow  escape  I  had  in  Unyoro,  preceded 
me  to  the  coast ;  for  when  I  met  the  colonel  in  command  of  the 
Indian  troops,  then  on  their  way  to  our  assistance  in  Uganda,  he 
expressed  surprise  at  seeing  me  alive,  having  heard  that  I  had 
been  carried  off  into  the  interior  and  then  murdered.  But 
"  all's  well  that  ends  well." 


CHAPTER  XI. 


UNYORO. 

UNYORO  used  to  be  a  separate  kingdom  under  King 
Kabarega.  Casati  and  Baker  Pasha  speak  of  him  as 
King  Chua.  In  the  heyday  of  his  power  the  king 
held  annually  a  great  assembly  of  all  his  chiefs,  at 
which  he  chose  haphazard  one  to  be  beheaded  there  and 
then.  He  stood  by  with  a  bowl  to  catch  the  blood  and  to 
sprinkle  it  around ;  the  corpse  was  ignominiously  thrown  to 
the  vultures  and  the  hyaenas.  Casati  was  persuaded  to  give  up 
his  rifles,  and  when  disarmed,  was  ordered  off  to  execution  ; 
but  though  he  escaped  with  his  life,  it  was  as  a  hunted  fugitive, 
and  with  the  loss  of  all  his  possessions,  including  his  valuable 
diary  and  collection.  Baker  Pasha  was  received  by  the  king 
with  professions  of  friendship,  and  then  treacherously  attacked 
at  night,  so  that  he  had  to  fight  his  way  step  by  step  out  of  the 
country,  incessantly  harassed  on  the  march,  and  losing  many 
of  his  followers  in  killed  and  wounded. 

When  the  British  Government  expelled  King  Kabarega  and 
drove  him  into  exile,  Unyoro  ceased  to  be  a  kingdom  and  was 
annexed  as  a  province  to  the  Uganda  Protectorate.  This  pro- 
vince is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Kafu  River,  on  the  east 
and  on  the  north  by  the  Nile,  and  on  the  west  by  Lake  Albert. 

Ex-king  Kabarega  took  refuge  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile. 
His  presence  there  became  a  standing  menace,  and  therefore 
most  of  the  Protectorate  troops  were  stationed  in  Unyoro.  Fort 
Masindi  was  built,  and  it  became,  owing  to  its  central  position, 
the  headquarters  of  the  province.  The  other  stations  are  :  Mruli 
on  the  Kafu  River,  Kibero  and  Mahaji  on  the  east  and  west 
shore  respectively  of  Lake  Albert,  Fovira  and  Fajao  on  the 
Nile,  Hoima  and  Kitanwa  inland.    Fort  Masindi  is  built  on  the 

usual  lines,  with  a  wooden  stockade  and  a  deep  trench. 

i67 


168  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


From  Kampala  to  Masindi  takes  twelve  days'  easy  marching. 
The  first  part  of  the  journey  through  Bulamwezi  is  very  pleasant, 
but  the  last  bit  of  the  road  before  reaching  Mruli  is  rather 
hot  and  trying,  over  an  uninteresting  plain,  with  rank  grass, 
and  scarcely  any  trees.  The  caravan  route  about  midway 
cuts  through  a  forest  belt.  Here  I  saw  some  native  elephant- 
hunters  in  pursuit  of  an  elephant. 

Mruli  is  the  southern  frontier  station.  Its  position  is  assigned 
wrongly  in  maps.  It  lies  on  the  north  or  left  bank  of  the  Kafu 
River,  and  not  on  the  south  or  right  bank.  The  river  is  almost 
choked  with  papyrus  opposite  the  station.  The  native  popula- 
tion consists  of  a  few  villages  thinly  populated.  A  few  fields 
are  cultivated,  but  the  river  yields  the  principal  supply  of  food. 
Any  amount  of  fish  is  caught  by  means  of  cleverly  constructed 
creels.  The  most  common  fish  is  a  small  species  of  perch  ; 
it  has  a  delicate  flavour,  but  is  terribly  packed  with  scores  of 
slender  harpoon-shaped  bones.  A  large  herd  of  Government 
cattle  are  kept  at  Mruli,  because  there  are  salt-licks  close  by  the 
river,  and  the  cattle  thrive  remarkably  well  here.  In  the  centre 
of  the  small  fort  there  is  a  large  tree,  under  which  the  Effendi 
had  directed  my  tent  to  be  pitched.  Towards  dusk  all  the 
vultures  in  the  neighbourhood  came  to  this  tree  to  roost,  and 
their  unpleasant  presence  soon  was  made  known  by  the  drop, 
drop,  drop,  on  my  fly-tent.  We  managed,  with  shouting  and 
throwing  stones  and  sticks,  to  persuade  the  birds  to  select 
another  tree  for  the  night.  Not  only  are  powder  and  shot  too 
valuable  to  be  wasted  on  carrion  birds,  but  the  birds  themselves 
are  most  useful  as  Nature's  scavengers. 

On  a  subsequent  visit  something  else  kept  dropping  from  the 
tree, — large  prickly  caterpillars.  I  collected  some,  but  all  except 
two  died.  The  two  which  underwent  the  chrysalis  change  I 
took  with  me  to  Masindi.  Six  months  later  I  was  delighted  one 
day  by  the  appearance  of  two  magnificent  large  yellow  moths 
of  the  Saturniidae  family,  my  Mruli  caterpillar  having  dropped 
its  pupa  sac  and  entered  the  imago  stage  of  its  existence. 

The  distance  from  Mruli  to  Masindi  is  usually  done  in  two 
marches,  but  it  can  be  done  in  one  day  if  the  caravan  does  not 
stop  at  the  Katagrukwa  River  or  "  river-camp." 

A  common  sight  at  the  entrance  of  Fort  Masindi,  whenever 
one  of  the  chiefs  comes  on  a  visit  to  the  officer  in  command,  is 
a  crowd  of  Wanyoro.    Most  of  them  use  a  cow-hide  as  a  cover- 


UNYORO  169 

ing,  wrapped  round  the  body  and  fastened  across  one  shoulder. 
Some  of  the  men,  however,  have  adopted  the  Waganda  bark- 
cloth,  and  a  few,  principally  sub-chiefs,  are  dressed  in  coloured 
cotton  cloth.    None  of  them  wear  ornaments  of  any  sort. 


AT  THE  ENTRANCE  OF  FORT  MASINDI. 


A  curious  fact  has  been  pointed  out,  that  now  and  then  a 
native  declares  he  is  bewitched,  and  that,  sure  enough,  he  dies 
soon  after.  One  gentleman  told  me,  that  a  Soudanese  soldier  in 
perfect  health  came  to  him  one  day  and  demanded  that  another 
Soudanese  should  be  put  to  death  for  having  bewitched  him. 
Of  course  the  absurdity  of  the  request  was  pointed  out  to  the 
applicant,  but  it  did  not  convince  him  ;  and  a  couple  of  days 
later  he  was  found  dead  in  his  hut,  without  any  clue  as  to  the 
cause  of  his  death.  In  all  my  African  experiences  I  have  come 
across  only  one  similar  case ;  but  I  have  not  the  slightest  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  the  man  was  poisoned.  Chief  Amara  was  the 
most  influential  and  powerful  chief  in  Unyoro,  and  as  he  had 
joined  the  English  cause  from  the  outset,  he  was  bitterly  hated 
by  ex-king  Kabarega. 

One  day  last  year,  Amara  informed  Major  Thruston  that 
some  one  had  bewitched  him,  and  that  he  was  about  to  die. 
The  Major  sent  Amara  on  to  me ;  I  found  nothing  whatever 
to  warrant  Amara's  gloomy  forebodings.  He  said,  that  occa- 
sionally after  taking  food  he  had  felt  inclined  to  vomit,  and 


170  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


that  food  seemed  to  make  his  stomach  swell.  I  treated  him  for 
the  indigestion  and  flatulence,  and  after  a  few  days  he  declared 
he  was  cured,  and  he  ceased  to  come  to  me.  Suddenly  one 
night  I  was  called  out  of  bed  to  see  him,  as  he  was  said  to  be 
dying.  I  did  not  stop  to  dress,  but  on  reaching  his  hut  found 
life  already  extinct.  A  post-mortem  examination  would  have 
been  considered  desecration  by  his  subjects.  I  told  the  Major, 
however,  that  I  felt  convinced  that  chief  Amara  was  poisoned. 

This  made  Major  Thurston  watch  for  a  clue,  and  he  found 
out  that  one  of  the  disloyal  sub-chiefs  had  received  a  present 
of  three  cows  from  ex-king  Kabarega  as  payment  for  having 
brought  about  the  death  of  chief  Amara.  A  punitive  expedi- 
tion followed,  in  which  the  sub-chief  was  killed  and  his  village 
destroyed.  In  the  meanwhile  Major  Thruston  proclaimed 
Ajaka,  the  infant  son  of  Amara,  to  be  chief  in  succession  to  his 


THE  INFANT  AJAKA,  THE  YOUNGEST  CHIEF  IN  UNYORO. 


father.  Chief  Amara  left  two  sons,  both  of  them  little  boys, 
who  are  half-brothers  ;  of  these  Ajaka  is  the  eldest.  Major 
Thruston  appointed  Msoga,  a  nephew  of  Amara,  to  be  regent 
during  Ajaka's  minority ;  but  as  Msoga  is  only  a  lad,  the  autho- 
rity of  Kiza,  who  was  Amara's  most  trusted  and  confidential 
adviser,  has  been  considerably  increased. 


UNYORO 


171 


Msoga  is  a  weak  character.  Chief  Yabuswezi,  whose  pro- 
vince adjoins  Ajaka's,  had  told  Msoga  that  he  would  have  to  die. 
Terrified  by  this  prediction,  Msoga  determined  to  spend  what 
was  left  of  life  in  drink  and  debauchery.  The  acting  officer  in 
command  of  Unyoro  thereupon  ordered  him  to  Masindi,  in 
order  to  have  him  more  under  control. 

Kiza,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  shrewd  old  man.  When  the 
Soudanese  troubles  in  Unyoro  led  to  Yabuswezi's  kraal  being 
looted  and  burnt,  Kiza  managed  to  prevent  any  harm  happening 
to  Ajaka's  kraal. 

African  mothers  are  often  extremely  indifferent  about  their 
offspring.  Ajaka's  mother  is  such  a  one.  She  is  a  Lendu 
woman,  and  since  Amara's  death  she  has  neglected  and  deserted 
her  son.  Major  Thruston  found  her  at  Masindi  and  sent  her 
back  to  Hoima.  She  again  deserted  her  child,  and  this  time  she 
persuaded  the  woman  who  acted  as  Ajaka's  nurse  to  accompany 
her.  Another  woman  made  a  request  to  leave  her  present 
husbandwho, 
though he had 
bought  her 
originally  as 
a  slave,  had 
a  f t  e  rwards 
married  her. 
She  now 
asked  for 
perm  i  s  s  ion 
to  live  with 
another  man 
she  had  taken 
a  fancy  to. 
She  brought 
her  child,  a 
nice  little 
girl  between 
three  and  four 

years  old,  and  she  declared  with  great  indifference  that  her 
husband  might  have  it,  as  she  did  not  want  it.  Some  of  these 
women  have  less  affection  for  their  offspring  than  is  found 


life 


WANYORO  WOMEN  WITH  NATIVE  HOES. 


among  the  lower  animals. 


Wanyoro  women  wear  a  short  petticoat  of  bark-cloth,  but 


172  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


leave  the  upper  part  of  the  body  uncovered.  Girls  as  a  rule 
go  uncovered  ;  they  never  wear  the  curious  grass-ring  seen  in 
Uganda.  The  native  hoe  is  the  ordinary  pointed  heart-shaped 
piece  of  iron,  tied  on  to  a  wooden  handle  which  looks  bent,  but 
is  cut  out  of  a  solid  block  of  wood.  The  women  do  nearly  all 
the  field  labour.  A  few  of  them  occasionally  wear  ornaments  of 
beads. 

During  my  stay  in  Unyoro  I  never  once  suffered  from  " jiggers," 
and  the  number  of  cases  I  had  to  treat  among  the  natives  was 
comparatively  small.  But  when  I  first  arrived  at  Kampala  in 
1894  the  jiggers  were  at  their  worst.  The  jigger  is  a  tiny  para- 
site which  burrows  in  preference  under  the  toe-nails.  It  may 
attack  the  finger-nails,  and  sometimes  it  may  be  found  on  other 
parts  of  the  body.  In  Xyassa-land  one  was  removed  from  the 
neck  of  a  European,  and  in  Kavirondo  I  saw  a  Swahili  whose 
body  was  covered  all  over  with  them.  The  missionaries  in 
Uganda  told  me,  that  many  of  the  Waganda  had  succumbed  to 
this  parasite,  and  that  one  chief  lost  eighty  of  his  men.  One  of 
the  cases  I  was  asked  to  see  at  Kampala  was  so  bad  that  I  offered 
to  amputate  the  foot,  as  the  greater  part  of  the  ankle  was  rotten, 
blood-vessels,  nerves,  muscle,  bone,  all  one  mass  of  corruption. 
The  patient  refused  amputation  and  died  a  week  or  two  later 
from  exhaustion,  owing  to  the  incessant  drain  on  the  system. 

Since  then  cleanliness  and  early  medical  treatment  have 
effected  a  great  change.  I  have  removed  as  many  as  four 
jiggers  in  one  day  from  my  feet,  when  I  first  lived  at  Port  Alice. 
Since  I  discontinued  wearing  slippers  in  Uganda,  and  paid 
attention  to  using  sound  socks  and  sound  boots,  besides  scrub- 
bing my  feet  every  morning  and  evening  with  soap  and  warm 
water,  I  have  enjoyed  considerable  immunity.  During  the  last 
thirty  months  I  have  been  troubled  only  once  by  a  jigger.  It 
was  at  Port  Alice.  I  woke  up  in  the  night  with  a  throbbing 
sensation  under  a  toe-nail,  lit  a  candle,  extracted  the  parasite, 
and  have  been  free  ever  since.  That  night  I  had  neglected  to 
give  the  feet  their  usual  evening  scrub  with  soap  and  water. 

Cleanliness  I  believe  goes  a  long  way  toward  securing  ex- 
emption. Europeans  are  made  aware  of  the  presence  of  the 
parasite  by  the  throbbing  sensation  which  it  sets  up  locally,  and  a 
tiny  black  spot  on  the  white  skin  indicates  its  position,  whence  it 
may  be  dislodged  with  the  point  of  a  needle.  It  lies  between 
the  epidermis  and  the  cutis  vera,  and  when  it  has  been  removed 


UNYORO 


173 


with  its  bag  of  eggs,  the  air  comes  in  contact  with  the  exposed 
surface  and  causes  a  smarting  sensation.  A  little  unguentum  acidi 
borici,  iodoform,  or  any  other  antiseptic,  effects  a  speedy  cure. 

With  very  foul  ulcers  on  natives,  I  have  found  direct  applica- 
tion of  pure  carbolic  acid  to  answer  best,  followed  by  ordinary 
antiseptic  dressings. 

I  found  the  hospital  arrangements  at  Masindi  thoroughly 
suitable  for  native  requirements,  but  the  grass-thatched  fence 
which  enclosed  the  hospital  grounds  was  very  short-lived  and 


A  HOSPITAL -HUT  AT  MASINDI. 


required  constant  repair.  Major  Thruston,  with  his  usual 
courtesy,  at  once  placed  a  number  of  labourers  on  daily  duty 
at  the  hospital  and  thus  kept  the  place  in  good  condition.  He 
added  a  new  wing  for  all  the  contagious  cases,  besides  putting 
up  a  separate  enclosure  and  hut,  some  distance  off,  for  small-pox 
patients. 

Small-pox  is  endemic  in  Uganda,  and  every  now  and  again 
becomes  epidemic.  I  lost  one  patient,  a  Soudanese  soldier, 
during  the  epidemic  of  1894  at  Kampala  ;  his  was  confluent 
variola.  I  had  several  cases  in  Unyoro,  but  they  were  all  of 
a  mild  type. 


174  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


During  my  stay  in  Unyoro  we  had  armed  friendly  Waganda  ; 
one  of  them  was  always  on  duty  at  the  hospital  entrance.  The 
hospital  orderly  was  a  Soudanese  sergeant  of  the  name  of  Fari- 
jalla  Memvu  ;  he  had  already  served  in  this  capacity  under  Emin 
Pacha.  The  name  "Memvu"  means  "Ripe  Banana."  Other 
curious  names  are  found  amongst  the  Soudanese  soldiers.  One 
of  my  patients  at  Fajao  was  named  "  Timsah  Omar,"  that  is, 
"  Crocodile  Donkey." 

Speaking  of  names,  there  are  peculiar  ones  met  with  amongst 
the  Wanyamwezi  porters.  In  one  of  my  caravans  I  had  men 
whose  names,  translated  into  English,  were  :  Half-Rupee,  One- 
Rupee,  Never-Mind,  Hard-Work,  Bad-Work,  War,  Cannon, 
Hippopotamus. 

With  Swahilies  the  two  favourite  names  are  "Juma,"  which 
means  "Friday,"  and  "  Hamis,"  "Thursday,"  and  combinations 
of  these  two  names,  such  as  "  Friday  the  Son  of  Thursday," 
"Thursday  the  Son  of  Friday."  Very  often  there  are  so 
many  who  have  the  same  name,  that  the  men  themselves 
take  or  are  given  some  sobriquet,  such  as  "  Tumbusi " 
(vulture),  if  he  had  a  bald  spot  on  the  top  of  his  head,  or 
"Fundi"  (artisan),  if  he  showed  aptitude  for  carpentering  or 
other  work. 

The  seven  hospital  huts  at  Masindi  have  been  gradually 
increased  in  number.  They  are  grass-huts,  and  are  constructed 
on  the  Soudanese  pattern.  Each  has  a  fireplace  in  the  centre 
and  holds  three  native  bedsteads. 

Last  September  some  very  heavy  thunder-storms  burst  over 
Masindi.  The  ammunition  store  was  above-ground  and  about 
fifteen  yards  from  my  hut.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  did  not 
add  to  one's  equanimity,  when  blinding  flash  and  crashing 
thunderclap,  apparently  synchronous  in  time,  occurred  every 
minute.  One  night  I  was  hurriedly  sent  for,  as  the  lightning 
had  struck  two  huts.  One  grass-hut  it  pierced  sideways  with- 
out setting  fire  to  it,  and  a  Soudanese  woman  who  was  inside 
the  hut  at  the  time  escaped  unhurt.  Another  grass-hut  the  light- 
ning struck  vertically  through  the  top  and  down  the  middle,  and 
neither  was  this  one  set  on  fire.  But  of  the  five  men  who  were  in 
the  hut,  two  were  killed  on  the  spot  and  the  three  others  were 
brought  to  me  for  treatment.  The  two  dead  men  showed  not 
the  slightest  sign  of  external  injury,  but  their  bodies  were  icy- 
cold,  as  if  just  taken  out  of  ice,  though  the  limbs  were  perfectly 


UNYORO 


I75 


supple.  Of  my  three  patients,  one  was  more  or  less  dazed,  but 
not  otherwise  injured,  and  he  soon  recovered ;  the  two  others 
were  in  a  bad  plight.  One  of  them,  moaning  incessantly,  had 
several  patches  burnt  down  his  left  side,  though  his  clothes  were 
not  injured  in  any  way  ;  he  seemed  to  be  in  great  pain  and 
to  have  been  rendered  silly  and  stupid.  The  third  man  had 
no  sign  of  external  injury,  but  was  quite  demented  for  the 
time.  He  was  a  big  strong  fellow  and  required  five  men  to  hold 
him,  whilst  I  administered  restoratives.  He  rolled  about  on  the 
ground  in  a  paroxysm  of  pain,  and  had  to  be  held  to  prevent 
his  hurting  himself.  He  uttered  deep  groans,  whilst  blood- 
stained froth  issued  from  his  mouth  and  nostrils  ;  his  eyes  were 
closed  and  his  hands  tightly  clenched.  I  feared  the  worst ;  but 
the  warmth  of 
the  fire,  warm 
blankets,  hot 
drinks,  and 
restoratives 
pulled  him 
through  the 
night,  and  in 
three  weeks 
time  he 
was  perfectly 
cured.  His 
throat  hurt 
him  at  first 
so  much,  that 
I    had  great 

difficulty      in  patients  at  the  hospital  dispensary. 

feeding  him. 

In  the  illustration,  representing  patients  at  the  hospital 
dispensary,  he  is  the  tall  man  supported  by  his  fellow-sufferer 
from  the  lightning  ;  both  men  were  then  convalescent. 

The  herd  of  Government  cattle  were  also  struck.  One  animal 
was  transfixed  and  killed  on  the  spot,  two  others  were  injured 
and  had  to  be  slaughtered.  The  meat  was  distributed  by  the 
officer  in  command,  and  thus  a  portion  fell  to  me,  the  first  beef 
within  the  last  six  months.  At  Christmas  the  officer  slaughtered 
a  young  bullock  and  an  old  cow,  and  for  the  second  and  last 
time  I  had  beef  in  Unyoro. 


176  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


One  of  my  duties  was  to  visit  the  other  forts.  Fort  Hoima 
stood  first  on  the  list.  It  was  the  principal  station  in  Unyoro 
prior  to  the  transfer  of  head-quarters  to  Masindi.  It  is  not 
surrounded  by  a  trench,  but  has  simply  a  stockade.  A  good 
many  of  the  poles  have  sprouted,  and  a  green  leafy  belt  now 
encircles  the  fort.  When  I  first  saw  it,  it  was  garrisoned  by 
friendly  Waganda.  Subsequently  I  received  instructions  to 
bring  Soudanese  from  Mahaji,  relieve  the  Waganda,  and  give 
them  permission  to  return  to  Uganda. 

The  sub-chief  in  charge  of  the  WTaganda  garrison  insisted, 
however,  on  my  giving  him  this  permission  in  writing.  Many 
of  the  natives  have  a  great  faith  in  anything  written.  Once  in 
Usoga  a  chief  visited  me  ;  as  a  sort  of  introduction  he  pulled 
out  a  piece  of  paper  carefully  wrapped  up  in  a  clean  cloth  and 
presented  it.  On  it  was  written  that  the  said  chief  had  been 
imprisoned  for  a  while,  but  by  the  clemency  of  the  Government 
had  been  permitted  to  return  to  his  chieftainship. 

At  Hoima  there  is  a  Makraka  settlement.  They  belong  to 
a  cannibal  tribe.  So  convinced  are  the  Soudanese  that  these 
settlers  still  have  a  predilection  for  human  flesh,  especially  for 
tender  children,  that  they  do  not  allow  their  offspring  to 
wander  near  the  village  of  these  supposed  ogres.  The  chief  of 
the  settlement  is  a  handy  blacksmith.  He  wears  a  lot  of  iron 
ornaments.  He  is  particularly  proud  of  his  beard,  because  the 
Soudanese,  Lendu,  Wanyoro,  and  Waganda  who  live  around 
him  never  can  grow  either  beard  or  moustache.  He  carefully 
plaits  his  beard  and  lubricates  it  with  grease.  He  wears  a  cloth 
apron  ;  but  all  his  wives  are  very  conservative,  and  still  adhere 
to  Eve's  first  raiment  of  leaves.  As  the  fig-tree  in  this  region  is 
rather  difficult  to  climb,  the  Makraka  ladies  find  it  easier  to 
clothe  themselves  with  the  first  handful  of  grass  or  leaves  they 
meet  with,  as  long  as  the  leaves  are  not  prickly  and  do  not  sting. 
Most  of  these  women  wear  ornaments,  ear-rings,  bracelets,  and 
necklaces,  either  of  beads  or  of  iron-wire  ;  they  plait  their  wool, 
which  is  somewhat  longer  than  what  the  Wanyoro  or  Waganda 
grow.  The  huts  are  perfectly  defenceless.  The  community 
lives  by  agriculture,  chiefly  maize,  kaffre-corn,  sweet-potatoes, 
and  beans.  The  locusts  provide  their  otherwise  vegetarian  diet 
with  an  occasional  change.  As  soon  as  ever  a  swarm  visits  them, 
old  and  young  are  busy  collecting  locusts  which  can  be  stored 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time  if  previously  dried  in  the  sun. 


UNYORO 


177 


Kites  feed  also  on  these  locusts,  and  may  be  seen  accom- 
panying a  locust  swarm.  I  have  watched  them  catching  a 
locust  in  the  air,  holding  it  in  their  claws,  and  without  stopping 
in  their  flight,  feed  by  taking  a  bite  at  it  now  and  again. 
These  birds  become  at  times  very  impudent.  Twice  has  a 
kite  swooped  down  on  me  and  flown  off  with  my  cap.  I 
recovered  the  cap  by  watching  where  the  disillusioned  bird 
dropped  it.  I  have  seen  them  snatch  meat  out  of  the  hand 
of  a  native  returning  from  market ;   and  once  a  kite  flew 


A  MAKRAKA  FAMILY. 

off  with  several  bird-skins  which  I  had  put  out  to  dry.  I 
wonder  what  the  carnivorous  bird  thought  of  it,  when  he  found 
that  the  birds  he  had  stolen  contained  cotton-wool  instead  of 
flesh  and  bone. 

Near  the  Makraka  village  I  saw  a  native  dog  catching  locusts 
and  eating  them.  The  dog  just  gave  a  snap  right  and  left  as  the 
swarm  flew  up  ;  occasionally  he  caught  one,  but  more  often  he 
missed  and  had  to  try  again. 

Baboons  came  in  foraging-parties  to  raid  and  plunder  the 
fields  of  the  Makraka.    I  tried  to  shoot  some  of  these  robbers  ; 

M 


i78 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


but  they  distrusted  my  appearance  and  scampered  off  without 
my  getting  within  range,  though  they  did  not  mind  the  Makraka 
in  the  least. 

At  Hoima  I  had  a  case  of  sporadic  small-pox,  and  quite  a 
crowd  of  itch  patients.  It  is  the  female  itch  parasite  which 
causes  all  the  trouble.  She  burrows  under  the  skin  to  deposit 
her  eggs  ;  her  favourite  site  is  between  the  fingers,  but  I  have 
had  patients  with  the  whole  of  the  lower  part  of  their  body 
one  mass  of  sores.  Cleanliness  is  a  great  preventive.  The  eggs 
take  three  days  to  hatch,  consequently  a  single  application  of 
unguentum  sulphuris  is  not  enough  to  cure  ;  it  is  as  well  to 
repeat  the  treatment  to  make  quite  sure  of  destroying  the  whole 
brood.  The  male  parasite  only  wanders  about  the  human  body 
in  search  of  a  spouse. 

On  the  9th  of  September  1897,  at  12.30  noon,  at  Masindi 
Fort,  in  Unyoro,  a  very  powerful  shock  of  earthquake  occurred. 
I  was  sitting  in  my  room,  and  the  officer  commanding  the 
district  was  at  the  open  door,  leaning  against  one  of  the  door- 
posts and  chatting  with  me.  My  tent-loads,  to  be  out  of  reach 
of  white-ants,  happened  to  be  slung  from  a  bamboo-pole 
stretched  across  the  room.  My  companion  first  became  aware 
of  the  earthquake.  He  saw  the  suspended  loads  swaying 
pendulum-fashion,  and  the  next  moment  the  whole  house  rocked 
and  shook.  To  me,  sitting  in  a  chair,  the  sensation  communi- 
cated to  the  feet  was  exactly  the  same  tremulous  movement 
which  one  experiences  in  an  express  train  going  at  full  speed. 
The  illusion  was  the  stronger,  owing  to  a  rumbling  noise  very 
similar  in  sound,  which  accompanied  the  shock.  It  lasted 
perhaps  a  minute.  The  natives  in  the  fort  also  noticed  it.  I  was 
told  that  in  September  1896  a  similar  shock  was  experienced  in 
this  very  hut. 

My  hut  at  Hoima  was  more  picturesque  than  comfortable. 
A  number  of  the  props  which  supported  the  narrow  verandah 
had  sprouted  and  formed  a  living  enclosure  of  young  trees. 
The  reed-work  which  closed  up  the  verandah  breast-high  pre- 
vented access  of  air,  and  the  condition  of  the  interior  could  be 
gathered  by  the  many  toad-stools  which  were  flourishing  in  the 
room.  The  hut  was  rendered  still  more  damp,  dark,  and  dismal 
by  a  reed-screen  run  across  the  room  to  screen  off  a  recess  to 
serve  as  a  bedroom. 

Amongst  the  prisoners  at  Hoima  there  was  a  man  sent 


UNYORO 


179 


by  chief  Yabuswezi  who  wished  the  man  to  be  punished 
for  having  bewitched  the  village,  thereby  causing  a  hyaena  to 
carry  off  three  of  the  inhabitants.  I  liberated  the  man,  and 
explained  to  Yabuswezi  that  white  men  do  not  believe  in  such 
superstitions. 

I  went  to  Unyoro  by  the  new  caravan  road,  and  I  returned 
to  Uganda  by  the  old  route  which  passes  by  Hoima,  the  upper 
crossing  of  the  Kafu  River,  and  through  Singo.  The  number 
and  size  of  the  swamps,  through  which  the  old  caravan  road 


MY  HUT  AT  HOIMA. 

leads,  surprised  me.  In  some  parts,  attempts  had  been  made 
to  bridge  a  swamp,  but  not  being  kept  in  repair,  the  scaffolding 
had  tumbled  down.  This  made  it  impossible  to  use  the  bridge 
and,  owing  to  the  debris,  made  it  most  difficult  to  pass  even 
alongside  of  it. 

I  had  in  my  caravan  several  Wanyoro  porters  wearing  a 
petticoat  made  of  strips  of  leaves  of  the  wild  date-palm. 

A  favourite  shape  of  gourd-bottle  for  a  journey  consists  of 
two  bulbs  with  a  narrow  neck  or  constriction  joining  them. 
The  upper  bulb  is  small  and  acts  as  a  sort  of  funnel  for  filling 
the  bottle  ;  the  neck  serves  to  hold  the  gourd  or  to  tie  it  to  the 
girdle  when  marching. 


i8o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


The  upper  crossing  of  the  Kafu  River  is  shallow  compared  to 
the  lower  crossing  at  Mruli  ;  it  is  also  more  open.  Hundreds 
of  wild  duck  were  disturbed  at  our  approach  ;  some  splashed 
and  fluttered  noisily  down-stream,  others  flew  up,  and,  after 
circling  above  our  heads,  went  up-stream.  On  the  opposite 
bank  friendly  Waganda  were  waiting  to  ferry  us  across  in  dug- 
outs ;  and  when  the  last  of  my  caravan  had  crossed  the  Kafu, 
we  had  left  Unyoro. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE. 

THE  Nile  !  What  a  marvellous 
panorama  the  name  conjures 
up !  A  nation  arising  out  of 
pre-historic  haze,  flourishing  for 
thousands  of  years,  disappearing  for 
ever  !  The  vanished  splendour  of  the 
Pharaohs,  the  lost  lore  of  the  Egyptians, 
the  hidden  mysteries  of  the  Pyramids  ! 
A  babe  cradled  on  its  bosom,  destined 
to  become  the  Lawgiver  of  the  world, 
whose  divinely-inspired  message,  "Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself," 
sounds  through  all  eternity  ! 
shuli  natives.  Recalling  the  stupendous  structures 

erected  by  the  mighty  race  which  the 
hand  of  Fate  has  swept  away,  and  glancing  at  the  puny  fort 
at  Fovira,  the  river  might  apply  to  us  Byron's  lines  : — 

"  Creatures  of  clay — vain  dwellers  in  the  dust  ! 
The  moth  survives  you,  and  are  ye  more  just  ? 
Things  of  a  day  !  you  wither  ere  the  night, 
Heedless  and  blind  to  Wisdom's  wasted  light ! " 

Seen  from  the  fort  at  Fovira,  the  huge  expanse  of  water 
might  be  taken  for  a  tranquil  lake,  for  there  is  not  a  sound  to 
betray  the  motion.  But  the  resistless  current  which  is  ever 
sweeping  onward  becomes  apparent  by  the  islands  floating  past. 
Noiselessly  and  swiftly  they  glide  into  view  and  pass  out  of 
sight.  Relentless  as  Fate,  silent  as  death,  ceaseless  as  time,  the 
ancient  river  pursues  its  majestic  course. 

181 


182  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


The  river  scenery  at  Fovira  is  striking.  The  wild  date-palm 
waves  a  gentle  greeting  with  its  graceful  many-fingered  leaves, 
the  welcome  banana  holds  out  its  luscious  fruit,  and  the  dark 
green  of  the  papyrus  contrasts  with  the  lighter  green  of  the 
various  shrubs  and  trees  around. 

Fovira  is  purely  and  simply  a  military  frontier  station  ;  it 
is  quite  out  of  the  track  of  the  ivory  dealers  and  consequently 
there  is  practically  no  business  whatever.    To  be  in  receipt  of 


RIVER  SCENERY  AT  FOVIRA. 


a  comfortable  salary,  and  yet  have  no  other  European  near 
to  criticise  one's  shabbiest  attire  or  most  frugal  meal ;  to 
have  a  few  humdrum  daily  routine  duties  to  attend  to  and  yet 
abundance  of  leisure  to  gratify  one's  hobbies  of  gardening  or 
carpentering ;  to  live  in  a  perennial  warm  English  summer 
with  the  thermometer  on  an  average  at  75°  F.,  and  yet  have 
the  nights  pleasantly  cool  to  enjoy  a  crackling  wTood-fire  ;  to 
have  boating  and  fishing  on  one  side  and  partridge  and  guinea- 
fowl  shooting  on  the  other,  with  an  occasional  reed-buck  or 
water-buck  thrown  in  to  enliven  the  sport ;  to  enjoy  splendid 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  183 


health  year  in  year  out,  and  yet  be  accredited  with  heroism  for 
continuing  to  hold  the  appointment ;  to  delight  neighbouring 
chiefs  with  handsome  presents  and  yet  have  not  a  penny  of  the 
expense  to  bear,  as  these  gifts  are  provided  for  in  the  Budget ;  to 
have  a  nominal  and  minimum  share  of  Government  responsi- 
bility and  yet  locally  "  to  boss  the  show,"  as  the  Yankee  tersely 
expresses  the  wielding  of  supreme  authority, — to  combine  all  these 
at  the  same  time,  one  has  to  be  appointed  officer  in  charge  of 
Fovira,  and  then  one  has  in  addition  a  sabbath  stillness  throughout 
the  week,  lovely  scenery,  a  timid  and  peaceful  native  population, 
and  last  but  not  least,  a  regular  monthly  service  with  England, 
bringing  a  fresh  supply  of  letters,  newspapers,  periodicals  and 
books. 

The  resident  must  keep  his  own  garden,  his  own  poultry, 
his  own  sheep  and  goats  ;  but  the  cost  of  this  is  practically  nil, 
and  may  afford  him  a  pleasant  occupation.  This  dolce  far 
niente  and  truly  rural  existence  suits  best  the  sort  of  man  who 
can  find  absorbing  interest  in  the  progress  of  his  rice  crops,  the 
size  of  his  onions,  the  goodness  of  his  potatoes,  the  delicacy  of 
his  peas  and  beans,  the  number  of  his  carrots  and  beet-roots,  the 
mellowness  of  his  melons,  the  succulence  of  his  papayes,  the 
fragrance  of  his  mignonette,  and  the  rich  display  of  colour  of 
his  pansies,  pinks,  marigolds,  zenias,  and  nasturtiums,  and  who 
is  not  above  taking  pleasure  in  hearing  of  the  last  lamb  or  kid 
born  to  his  flock  and  the  last  batch  of  chickens  reared.  Govern- 
ment has  gratuitously  supplied  the  station  with  some  forty  head 
of  cattle  ;  as  none  are  slaughtered  and  the  herd  steadily  multi- 
plies, there  need  be  no  lack  of  milk  and  cream  and  butter,  to 
complete  the  happiness  of  this  Arcadian  life. 

The  fort  stands  about  20  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river. 
One  side  slopes  down  to  the  water,  the  other  three  sides  have  an 
earth  wall,  a  stockade,  and  a  deep  trench  to  protect  them.  There 
are  two  entrances,  one  on  each  side  of  the  fort.  Of  these,  one 
is  by  means  of  a  narrow  drawbridge,  looking  somewhat  like  a 
ladder  when  drawn  up  ;  its  length  gauges  the  width  of  the 
trench.  A  good  many  of  the  poles  which  were  used  for  the 
stockade  belong  to  a  juicy-stemmed  plant.  These  have  sprouted, 
and  with  their  crowns  of  tropical  leaves  they  lend  a  picturesque 
charm  to  the  surroundings.  Their  presence  has  probably 
attracted  the  scores  of  brilliantly  coloured  beetles  which  on  my 
first  visit  I  saw  buzzing  about.    Most  of  them  were  longicorns, 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


some  flaunting  a  conspicuous  blue  and  white  dress,  others  a 
sombre  red  and  black.  Other  species,  however,  were  also  re- 
presented. I  picked  up  a  fine  specimen  of  the  rhinoceros-beetle, 
and  the  shining  black  cetonia  burrowed  in  and  out  amongst 
the  thatch. 

To  prevent  the  river-side  of  the  fort  from  gently  sliding 
one  day  into  the  river,  a  part  of  it  has  been  banked  up.  This 
spot,  with  the  grateful  shade  of  an  adjoining  tree,  seems  indicated 


DRAWBRIDGE  OF  FORT  FOVIRA. 


by  Nature  as  the  very  place  for  the  afternoon  cup  of  tea.  Here, 
in  the  soft  balmy  atmosphere,  with  the  silver  sheen  of  the  silent 
river  at  one's  feet,  and  the  deep  blue  of  heaven's  endless  space 
overhead,  with  the  sleepy  drone  of  beetles  humming  around, 
and  the  ringdoves  cooing  from  the  stately  palms,  one  yields  to 
the  gentle  spirit  of  poetry  which  breathes  around  the  scene,  and 
one  welcomes : — 

This  hour  of  restful  pleasure 

As  a  foretaste  of  pleasures  to  come, 

Which  angels  of  God  cannot  measure, 
Which  mind  of  man  cannot  sum  ! 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  185 


It  was  at  Fovira  that  I  first  saw  a  small  species  of  crow  with 
a  long,  brown,  and  pointed  tail.  It  was  present  in  large  numbers, 
and  busy  on  the  newly-tilled  fields  in  search  of  grubs.  At  first 
I  thought  there  must  be  two  distinct  species,  as  the  beak  of  some 
was  black  and  of  others  blood-red  ;  but  when  I  saw  the  black- 
billed  feeding  the  red-billed,  I  knew  that  one  was  but  the  young 
of  the  other.  The  red  colour  was  due  to  the  presence  of  blood 
shining  through  the  horny  substance,  and  exactly  in  the  same 
way  that  a  finger-nail  becomes  pale  when  pressed,  the  red  beak 
became  colourless  under  pressure.  I  saw  here,  too,  the  pretty 
green  pigeon  called  "  ninga  "  by  the  Swahilies.  Its  feet  and  bill 
are  orange-red.  It  lives  on  berries.  When  perched  in  the  green 
foliage  it  is  most  difficult  to  distinguish  from  its  surroundings. 

There  are  pleasant  walks  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  since  the 
Government  road  leading  to  Masindi  has  been  finished,  the 
pedestrian  can  walk  for  hours  without  being  bothered  by  the 
prickly  darts  of  the  rank  grass,  or  the  thorns,  thistles,  and  burrs, 
which  obstructed  the  path  on  my  first  visit  to  Fovira. 

Everybody  has  not  a  talent  for  building  a  house,  but  the 
officer  in  charge  of  Fovira  knew  what  he  was  about  when  he 
built  the  neat  bungalow  inside  the  fort.  It  is  a  combination  of 
two  Soudanese  circular  huts  joined  on  to  a  small  central  Swahili 
hut.  A  narrow  verandah  runs  all  round  the  building.  Each  of 
the  three  rooms  has  three  small  square  windows  with  wooden 
shutters.  The  mud  walls,  of  the  usual  wattle  and  daub  style, 
are  washed  over  with  some  whitish  clay,  the  nearest  approach  to 
white-washing  which  can  be  locally  obtained. 

My  host  courteously  placed  one  of  the  rooms  at  my  disposal. 
He  was  busy  superintending  the  construction  of  a  seine  or  casting- 
net  for  supplying  his  table  more  easily  with  fish  ;  in  the  meantime 
he  persuaded  me  to  while  away  an  hour  on  the  river  with  hook 
and  line.  I  have  never  been  a  devotee  of  Izaac  Walton's  "  gentle 
art,"  and  it  is  years  since  I  baited  a  hook  and  threw  a  line  ;  nor 
have  I  gone  in  for  boating  since  I  feathered  an  oar  at  college  ; 
but  I  accepted  the  invitation  as  offering  a  better  chance  of  seeing 
a  species  of  kingfisher  which  my  host,  not  knowing  its  name, 
called  the  "golden  kingfisher,"  and  which,  according  to  him, 
did  not  answer  the  description  of  any  of  the  different  sorts  of 
kingfishers  one  usually  meets  with  in  Africa.  It  was  not  the 
large  black  and  white  sort,  which  hovers  wTith  incessant  flutter  of 
wings  above  one  spot,  keenly  watching  for  its  prey,  and  then 


i86 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


suddenly  drops  like  a  stone  with  a  splash  into  the  water  and 
emerges  with  a  wriggling  fish  neatly  caught ;  nor  was  it  the  tiny 
many-coloured  bird,  the  wTeight  of  whose  brilliant-hued  body 
scarcely  bends  the  water-reeds  on  which  it  perches  ;  nor  was  it 
the  glorious  blue-backed  species  with  the  black  shoulders  ;  nor 
any  other  that  I  could  think  of.  To  see  the  " golden  kingfisher" 
I  went.  The  current  swept  my  line  into  the  form  of  a  huge  arc, 
the  hooks  got  entangled  in  the  reeds  and  lost,  and  it  was  sweating 
hard  work  to  row  against  the  stream  for  even  a  short  distance 


THE  WANYORO  CHIEF  LEJUMBA. 


back  to  our  landing-place.  As  for  the  "golden  kingfisher" — it 
refused  to  show  itself.  Another  long  spell  of  time  will  have 
to  elapse  before  I  am  persuaded  to  try  again  the  enthusiastic 
angler's  absorbing  pursuit. 

About  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  walk  from  the  fort,  the  Wanyoro 
chief,  Lejumba,  has  pitched  his  kraal.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that 
he  is  the  son  and  successor  of  chief  Rionga,  with  whom  Baker 
Pasha  made  blood-brotherhood.  Lejumba  allowed  me  to  photo- 
graph him  with  some  of  his  sub-chiefs  and  leading  men,  and  he 
was  as  pleased  as  Punch  when  I  presented  him  with  a  copy  of 
his  likeness  on  the  day  I  left.    He  made  recently  a  successful 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  187 


punitive  raid  against  some  tribe  living  higher  up  the  river  and 
on  the  opposite  bank,  and  brought  back  some  hundreds  of  sheep 
and  goats.  A  handsome  share  of  his  spoil,  I  am  told,  he  gave 
as  a  present  to  the  fort.  A  good  many  of  his  patients  were 
treated  by  me  gratis,  and  his  present  to  me  of  a  couple  of 
chickens  was  not  meant  as  an  acknowledgment  for  the  scores 
of  cases  I  had  attended,  but  was  simply  the  native  style  of 
greeting  which  a  courteous  African  chief  usually  gives  to  every 


THE  LANGO  CHIEF  AMIEN. 

European  traveller,  whether  he  be  clerk  or  commissioner.  I 
believe  even  missionaries  have  been  driven  to  the  conclusion, 
that  gratitude  is  a  stage  in  mental  development  which  the  African 
savage,  whether  he  be  peasant  or  chief,  has  not  yet  attained  to. 
Lejumba  is  closely  related  to  the  royal  house  of  Unyoro,  for  his 
father  was  the  nephew  of  the  late  king,  but  a  bitter  blood-feud 
existed  already  then  between  the  two  families.  He  is,  therefore, 
bound  to  be  a  faithful  ally  of  the  white  man,  for  if  he  fell  into 
the  hands  of  ex-king  Kabarega's  sons,  his  doom  would  be  sealed. 
He  did  not  strike  me  as  being  particularly  intelligent,  but  he 


188  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


is  neither  better  nor  worse  than  the  average  Wanyoro  chief , 
though  his  face  expresses  cunning  and  self-indulgence. 

On  the  opposite  or  northern  bank  of  the  Nile  dwells  the 
Lango  race.  They  are  not  under  British  rule,  but  now  and  then 
they  come  across  in  dug-outs  and  barter  native  produce  (sweet- 
potatoes  and  matama  flour)  in  exchange  for  cloth  and  beads.  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them,  when  their  chief  Amien  came 
over  with  sons  and  followers  to  receive  a  Government  present 
of  cotton  cloth,  white  and  coloured.  He  has  a  fine  and  stately 
figure,  though  already  "in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf"  of  age.  He 
wore  a  serval  skin  girt  round  his  loins,  an  amulet  or  charm 
round  his  neck,  some  bracelets,  and  an  anklet.  In  spite  of  his 
wrinkles  there  was  a  manly,  hardy  expression  on  his  face.  One 
glance,  at  him  and  his  followers,  would  suffice  to  pick  him  out 
as  the  aWf  av8pwv  of  his  tribe,  as  Kingsley  would  express  it.  It 
is  noteworthy,  that  he  did  not  affect  the  curious  headgear  adopted 
by  his  tribe.  Most  of  his  men,  including  his  two  sons,  had  their 
wool  plaited  into  a  bun-shaped  excrescence  on  the  occiput, 
ornamented  with  beads  and  well-lubricated  with  grease  and 
mud.  Some  of  the  warrior  dandies  wore  huge  wigs  of  bright- 
coloured  feathers.  Every  one,  man  or  boy,  was  clothed  with 
a  small  apron  of  cloth  or  goat-skin.  The  women  go  about 
naked,  but  are  fond  of  decking  themselves  with  ornaments. 

The  serval  is  a  carnivorous  animal  of  the  cat  tribe.  Judging 
by  the  skins  brought  for  sale,  there  must  be  a  great  many 
different  species  of  it.  Some  have  tiny  spots  set  close  together, 
and  are  of  a  brown  colour  ;  others  are  bright  orange-yellow, 
with  large  handsome  black  spots.  I  have  seen  them  sold  at 
Kampala  brand-new  at  two  shillings  each. 

One  day  two  Lango  natives,  a  boy  and  a  man,  evidently 
father  and  son,  crossed  to  our  side.  The  boy  wore  already  the 
national  ornament,  a  tiny  bun  on  his  occiput ;  in  his  arms  he 
held  a  long-legged  wThite  chicken  which  he  wanted  to  barter 
for  cloth. 

Government  officials,  I  have  been  told,  are  prohibited  from 
crossing  the  Nile  at  Fovira,  but  judging  from  what  one  can  see 
of  the  opposite  bank  from  a  distance,  the  Lango  are  a  thriving 
agricultural  race,  with  numerous  and  well-peopled  hamlets.  With 
the  exception  of  certain  landing-places,  the  dense  papyrus  growth 
draws  an  impenetrable  barrier  some  hundreds  of  yards  wide 
along  both  sides  of  the  river. 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  189 


I  saw  neither  crocodiles  nor  hippos  at  Fovira,  though  no 
doubt  they  are  present.  There  are  a  good  many  white -ant 
hills  about,  though  the  fort  itself  is  singularly  free  from  this 
nuisance. 

About  an  hour's  walk  from  Fovira  I  came  upon  a  different 
race.  They  call  themselves  the  "  Falua,"  and  differ  from  the 
Wanyoro  in  every  respect.  Wanyoro  women  never  go  naked, 
but  here  I  came  upon  not  a  few  as  nude  as  the  Wakavirondo.  It 


SEM-SEM  DRYING- STACK. 


was  the  time  of  the  sem-sem  crop.  The  sem-sem  plant  grows 
somewhat  like  flax,  but  it  bears  a  number  of  vertical  pods  which, 
when  ripe,  burst  at  the  top  and  form  a  deep  miniature  cup 
surmounted  by  a  miniature  crown.  The  plants  are  reaped  with 
an  ordinary  knife,  tied  into  small  bundles,  and  then  attached  to 
the  sem-sem  drying-stack. 

The  drying-stack  consists  of  a  reed-screen  resting  slantingly 
against  a  horizontal  pole  supported  on  two  vertical  props  with 
forked  ends.  The  screen  is  made  of  interlacing  reeds,  and  is 
placed  so  as  to  receive  as  many  as  possible  of  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun.  On  this  reed-screen  the  sem-sem  crop  is  allowed 
to  dry  thoroughly,  when  the  plants,  held  with  the  open  mouth 


i9o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


of  the  pods  pointing  downwards,  at  the  slightest  shake  will 
shower  all  their  tiny  seeds  on  to  the  cloth  or  mat  spread  out 
to  receive  them.  The  sem-sem  is  an  oil-giving  seed,  and  is  of 
immense  importance  to  agricultural  races  living  almost  exclu- 
sively on  a  vegetable  diet.  A  very  simple  method  of  extracting 
the  oil  is  to  toast  the  sem-sem  slightly  and  then  boil  it ;  the 
oil  rises  to  the  surface  and  can  be  skimmed  off.  If  properly 
prepared,  the  oil  is  equal  to  the  finest  olive-oil,  and  very  useful 
for  culinary  purposes.  A  pint  of  it  at  Masindi  could  be  bought 
for  two  shillings. 

The  monkey-nut,  which  forms  such  an  important  trade  be- 
tween Mozambique  and  Marseilles,  where  it  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  so-called  olive-oil  of  commerce,  thrives  at 
Fovira  ;  but  the  natives  find  it  easier  to  extract  their  oil  from 
the  sem-sem  grain. 

Amongst  the  Falua  neither  men  nor  boys  go  uncovered. 
The  Falua  spear  has  a  very  small  but  sharp  spear-head.  The 
villages  lie  quite  unprotected  ;  they  seemed  to  be  well  stocked 
with  sheep,  goats,  and  poultry.  Spiral  coils  of  brass  wire  round 
the  wrists  were  worn  by  the  wealthier  ladies,  and  ornaments  of 
beads  by  the  poorer  class. 

A  curious  corn-bin  is  manufactured  by  the  villagers.  It 
consists  of  wicker-work,  and  resembles  somewhat  a  soiled  linen- 
basket  with  a  thick  rim.  It  is  well  plastered  with  red  clay 
both  inside  and  out,  and  probably  answers  its  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting the  grain  from  insects  and  rats. 

Wimbi  is  another  grain  largely  cultivated  by  the  natives. 
It  is  used  principally  in  the  preparation  of  their  native  brew. 
Wimbi  is  a  species  of  grass,  the  stalk  of  which  bears  several 
tufts  of  seeds.  When  ripe,  the  tufts  are  nipped  off  by  hand 
or  cropped  with  a  short  knife  ;  they  are  then  thoroughly  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  finally  threshed  out  in  a  very  primitive  way 
with  sticks. 

From  a  shrub  which  grows  six  to  eight  feet  high  the 
natives  gather  a  small  kind  of  bean.  This,  too,  is  largely 
cultivated  here.  In  the  illustration  one  of  the  women  has  a 
grass-platter  with  a  lot  of  these  tiny  pods  collected,  preparatory 
to  shelling  them  for  their  frugal  meal.  Most  of  the  huts 
were  of  the  ordinary  type,  but  a  few  amongst  them  were  of 
superior  workmanship.  The  hut  resembled  in  shape  half  an 
orange,  with  the  thatch  reaching  to  the  ground,  except  for  a 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  191 


small  space  in  front,  where  it  was  cut  to  expose  the  mud-wall 
with  its  neatly  finished  arched  entrance.  Like  most  of  the 
natives,  men  and  women  smoke. 

Many  of  the  small  children  have  a  very  large  abdomen, 
and  remind  one  of  nestlings.  In  one  village  over  a  score  of 
these  children 
were  marched 
up  to  me  for 
treatment.  It 
was  a  sight!  In 
not  a  few  cases 
the  condition 
is  natural,  the 
child  devouring 
whatever  it  can 
lay  its  hands 
on  ;  in  other 
cases  it  is  due 
to  ailments 
which  readily 
yield  to  treat- 
ment. 

One  of  the 

difficulties  with  a  falua  dwelling. 

which  the  medi- 
cal man  has  to  contend  in  these  regions  is  the  impossibility 
of  finding  out  the  exact  ailment  of  the  patient,  owing  to  the 
interpreter's  limited  knowledge  of  the  language.  A  ludicrous, 
though  rather  unpleasant,  occurrence  once  happened  to  me  in 
this  connection.  I  was  attending  a  number  of  Wakavirondo 
captives,  women  and  children.  The  patient  had  some  gastric 
trouble.  I  do  not  know,  of  course,  how  the  interpreter  trans- 
lated my  question,  but  the  patient,  together  with  eight  or  ten 
other  women,  proceeded  to  give  me  a  visible  proof  of  the  form 
her  indisposition  took. 

Another  difficulty  is,  that  natives  often  come  for  treatment 
for  imaginary  complaints.  One  of  the  great  Waganda  chiefs, 
the  Kago,  used  to  come  to  me  regularly  with  his  story  of  the 
"worm."  One  day  the  "worm"  was  in  his  heart,  another  day 
in  the  small  of  his  back,  another  time  it  had  travelled  to  his 
arm,  and  so  on.     I  gave  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and 


i92  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


treated  him  for  rheumatism,  oppression,  or  anything  rational 
bearing  on  his  symptoms.  In  spite  of  all  his  ailments  he  grew 
dailv  more  stout  and  strong.  One  day  I  gave  him  a  strong 
purgative.  He  did  not  reappear  for  a  week ;  when  he  came, 
he  was  accompanied  by  one  of  his  men  leading  a  fat  sheep. 
He  had  never  given  me  the  slightest  acknowledgment  for  the 
scores  and  scores  of  times  he  had  come  to  me  for  the  treat- 
ment which  he  was  receiving  gratis.  This  day  he  solemnly 
made  me  a  present  of  a  fat  sheep.  He  assured  me  that  my 
last  medicine  was  splendid.  The  effect  was  such,  he  said,  that 
he  reallv  thought  that  he  was  about  to  die,  and  that  it  had 
utterly  prostrated  him  for  days.  He  felt,  however,  that  he  was 
cured,  and  he  came  to  thank  me  publicly.  It  was  many  months, 
before  he  was  troubled  again  by  his  old  enemy  the  "  worm." 
I  was  interested  when  one  day  the  Mission  doctor,  Dr.  A.  Cook, 
incidentally  mentioned  to  me  that  some  natives  came  to  him 
with  ima^inarv  diseases.  Thev  cause  a  serious  loss  of  time  to 
him  whom  I  know  to  be  one  of  the  most  able  and  hard-working 
men  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  either  in  professional 
consultation  or  in  private  life. 

The  Falua  not  only  use  the  ordinary  type  of  corn-store  seen 
everywhere,  but  have  a  peculiar  one  of  their  own.  Instead  of 
the  basket  being  very  deep  and  the  cover  over  it  removable,  the 
basket  is  wide  but  shallow,  and  the  cover  over  it  is  a  fixture  with 
an  opening  in  front  permitting  access  to  the  store.  The  corn  is 
therefore  much  more  handy  to  get  at,  and  the  opening  is  readily 
closed  again  with  dry  banana-leaves  or  grass. 

The  Falua  have  a  good  many  banana  plantations,  but  the 
banana  does  not  play  here  as  important  a  part  in  every-day  life 
as  in  Uganda,  though  a  banana  plantation  can  provide  the 
native  with  everything  he  requires — shelter,  clothing,  fuel,  food. 

Returning  from  the  Falua  village  to  the  fort,  my  boy  uttered 
an  exclamation  of  alarm  ;  he  had  seen  me  pass  and  almost  touch 
a  deadly  puff-adder  lying  coiled  up  in  the  grass.  As  it  had 
disappeared,  we  did  not  stay  to  look  for  it,  but  left  the  danger- 
ous spot  as  quickly  as  possible. 

I  was  shown  at  Fovira  some  exquisitely  delicate  white 
feathers  obtained  from  under  the  tail  of  a  large  bird.  From 
the  description  of  the  bird  I  felt  satisfied  it  belonged  to  the 
stork  species — it  is,  in  fact,  the  well-known  marabou.  The 
feathers  are  extremely  valuable,  almost  worth  their  weight  in 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  193 


gold.  I  saw  scores  and  scores  of  these  birds  solemnly  sitting 
on  the  trees,  when  I  journeyed  from  Fovira  to  Mruli  by  the 
road  which  gives  a  view  of  the  Nile  almost  the  whole  way.  It 
was  here,  that  I  shot  a  specimen  of  the  Unyoro  guinea-fowl.  I 
was  anxious  to  secure  it ;  but  two  of  the  Soudanese  soldiers, 
eager  to  bring  me  the  bird,  managed  to  pull  out  the  whole  of 
its  tail  and  a  handful  or  two  of  other  feathers.  This  brings  to 
my  mind,  that  I  once  saw  a  Swahili  porter  carrying  a  chicken 
ready  plucked  but  left  alive,  and  tied  to  his  belt.  I  had  the 
chicken  at  once  killed  and  the  porter  punished. 

I  have  noticed  at  times  diametrically  opposite  qualities  in 
a  Swahili.  He  will  share  whatever  he  is  eating  with  anybody 
who  holds  out  his  hand  for  a  portion  of  it,  and  he  will  allow  his 
sick  companion  to  die  of  hunger  and  thirst  before  his  very  eyes. 
He  will  follow  bravely  into  the  very  thickest  of  the  fight,  with 
death  staring  him  in  the  face,  and  he  will  run  away  and  hide 
himself  when  a  few  shots  are  fired  near  him.  He  will  fight  and 
quarrel  to  be  allowed  to  carry  the  heaviest  tusk  of  ivory,  and  he 
will  be  equally  quarrelsome  to  get  the  lightest  load.  And  yet, 
when  I  said  good-bye  to  Fort  Fovira  and  returned  to  Masindi, 
I  was  glad  that  at  least  half  of  my  porters  were  Swahilies,  for 
they  are  well-accustomed  to  caravan  work. 

Fajao,  the  other  Government  station  on  the  Nile,  is  not  a 
fort ;  it  is  purely  and  simply  a  military  settlement.  The  scenery 
at  Fajao  is  the  very  opposite  of  what  one  sees  at  Fovira.  Instead 
of  having  a  silent  river,  one  hears  the  ceaseless  roar  of  the  Mur- 
chison  Falls  ;  instead  of  the  open  flat  country,  one  sees  steep 
hills  and  lofty  forest  trees ;  instead  of  having  the  peaceful 
Lango  as  neighbours,  the  hostile  Shuli  hold  the  opposite  bank. 
Crocs  and  hippos  swarm  in  the  river,  and  lions  infest  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Instead  of  a  healthy  station,  the  climate  must  try 
every  white  man's  constitution,  if  stationed  here  for  any  length 
of  time  ;  death  and  danger  surround  him  by  land  and  by  water, 
and  all  his  energies  are  called  forth  to  guard  against  them. 

There  was  no  hospital  at  Fajao,  but  Major  Thruston  most 
kindly  gave  me  carte  blanche  to  build  one.  "  Build  it  where 
you  like,  how  you  like,  what  you  like,  and  stay  as  long  as  you 
like,"  was  his  way  of  summing  it  up.  Thereupon  I  set  to  work, 
and  in  twelve  days  had  built  the  hospital  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration. A  row  of  patients  may  be  seen  calling  at  the  hut  which 
serves  as  dispensary  ;  next  to  it  is  an  open  shed  which  answers 

N 


194  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  purpose  of  a  waiting-room  for  the  patients.  Four  hospital 
huts  have  been  erected,  similar  to  what  has  answered  so  well  at 
Masindi,  and  the  hospital  grounds  are  similarly  enclosed  by  a 
grass-fence.  On  my  second  visit  to  Fajao,  I  was  very  thankful 
to  have  a  hut  ready  to  receive  the  poor  soldier  who  was  so  badly 
mauled  by  the  man-eating  lioness.  It  is  always  well  to  have  a 
special  place  for  patients. 

A  male  or  female  negro  in  the  full  bloom  of  lusty  adoles- 


THE  HOSPITAL  AT  FAJAO. 


cence  has  a  strong  peculiar  odour  which  European  olfactory 
nerves  fail  to  appreciate.  When  unwashed  feet  and  foul  ulcers 
are  superadded,  the  effect  is  overpowering.  A  whiff  from  the 
bottomless  pit  with  the  lid  off  is  what  one  imagines,  if  popular 
notions  respecting  that  undesirable  place  are  to  be  relied  on, 
the  only  thing  that  can  possibly  equal  it. 

Abura,  one  of  the  Shuli  chiefs,  came  to  me  to  be  treated. 
He  was  suffering  from  a  complication  of  diseases.  For  one 
of  these  I  had  to  perform  the  operation  which  Jews  and  Moham- 
medans practise  as  a  religious  rite.  Amongst  Africans  some 
races  perform  it  also  as  a  national  custom,  other  races  abhor 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  195 


it.  To  the  latter  belong  the  Shuli,  and  Abura  became  seriously 
alarmed  whether  his  subjects  might  not  depose  him  on  hearing 
to  what  he  had  submitted.  He  arranged  in  that  case  to  return 
with  all  his  family  and  followers,  and  settle  on  the  British  side 
of  the  Nile.  However,  his  fears  proved  groundless.  Another  of 
his  complications  was  ringworm.  Of  this  disease  I  saw  several 
cases  at  Fajao  on  our  side  of  the  river.  Abura  had  only 
brought  two  of  his  wives  with  him  ;  they  were  absolutely  nude. 
He,  however,  and  all  his  men  were  covered,  wearing  an  apron 
of  goat-skin. 

The  Shuli  wear  anklets,  bracelets,  armlets,  and  necklets  of 
brass  wire  or  beads ;  but  a  remarkable  fashion  with  many  of 
them  is  to  pierce  the  under-lip  and  stick  through  it  a  short  blunt 
pencil  of  glass  one  to  two  inches  long.  They  push  it  through 
from  inside,  so  that  the  thick  end  of  the  pencil  touches  the  teeth. 

They  are  expert  fishermen  with  hook  and  line  and,  in  spite 
of  the  hundreds  of  crocodiles,  fearlessly  paddle  in  their  fragile 
dug-outs  amid  the  foaming  and  whirling  backwash  of  the  river, 
where  it  forms  the  deep  bay-like  indentations.  They  have 
neither  float  nor  lead  to  their  line,  and  the  hook  is  only  a  most 
ridiculous  bent  piece  of  soft  iron-wire,  and  yet  I  saw  them  catch 
fish  after  fish,  a  species  of  large  delicious  mullet.  Two  other 
species  of  fish  caught  here  are  a  large  mud-fish  and  the  small 
bony  perch  one  sees  at  Mruli. 

On  my  second  visit  to  Fajao,  Abura  sent  word  that  he  would 
like  very  much  to  see  me,  but  that  he  had  received  orders  from 
the  supreme  chief  at  Wadelai  that  neither  he  nor  the  other  Shuli 
chiefs  were  to  be  friendly  with  the  English,  but  were  to  support 
the  cause  of  ex-king  Kabarega. 

The  Fajao  garrison  were  going  through  a  trying  time  with 
their  crops  ;  drought,  locusts,  hippos,  and  baboons  uniting  to 
impoverish  the  settlement.  As  might  be  expected  from  its  being 
a  settlement  in  a  tropical  forest,  all  sorts  of  interesting  zoolo- 
gical specimens  frequent  these  woods.  The  black  and  white 
Colobus  and  several  other  species  of  monkey,  a  green  squirrel 
with  three  black  stripes  from  head  to  tail,  a  red-nosed  rat  with 
a  red  patch  near  the  tail,  and  lovely  specimens  of  papilio  and 
charaxes.  A  little  lower  down  the  river  the  pepper  -  plant, 
bearing  the  small  red  chili  pods,  grows  wild  in  profusion  as 
a  common  shrub  eight  feet  high. 

The  road  from  Fajao  to  Masindi,  lying  through  the  late  chief 


196  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Amara's  country,  was  in  excellent  condition,  and  half-a-dozen 
men  could  have  walked  abreast.  Caravans,  however,  always 
travel  in  Indian  file,  one  behind  the  other.  With  natives  on  the 
march,  the  head  of  a  family  usually  walks  first,  armed  with 

a  spear.  The 
others  follow 
more  or  less 
according  to  the 
lightness  of  their 
burdens ;  the 
poor  drudge  of 
the  family  has 
the  biggest  and 
heaviest  load  and 
comes  last. 

On    my  last 
visit  to  Fajoa  a 

NATIVES  ON   THE  MARCH.  Shufi       Spy  WaS 

brought  to  me. 

The  Effendi  thought  the  man  was  a  friend  to  the  English, 
because  he  came  from  time  to  time  pretending  to  bring  news 
that  ex-king  Kabarega  was  about  to  attack  the  settlement.  Such 
attack  never  happened,  and  the  man  only  came  to  collect  infor- 
mation for  Kabarega.  I  questioned  the  man  closely,  and  soon 
found  out  what  he  had  really  come  for.  According  to  him,  the  ex- 
king  was  about  to  attack  us  with  an  army  of  which  one  thousand 
men  were  armed  with  guns.  He  said  the  king  had  heard  that  we 
were  all  terrified  by  the  news,  and  that  the  Soudanese  captain  in 
command  had  run  awav  to  Masindi  and  the  white  medicine-man 
had  fled  down  the  Nile.  I  saw  at  once  what  this  garbled  news 
evidently  referred  to,  as  I  had  gone  one  day  in  a  dug-out  down- 
stream to  shoot  a  hippo,  and  the  captain  had  left  Fajao  for 
Masindi  on  business.  I  told  the  spy  to  let  Kabarega  know  we 
were  ready  for  him,  and  that  if  he  did  come,  in  all  probability 
he  would  never  return  again.  The  Shuli  then  remarked,  that 
Kabarega  would  probably  not  come  on  hearing  we  were  ready 
for  him.  In  order  that  the  man  might  not  guess  what  we  wished 
him  to  tell  his  master,  I  now  strongly  recommended  he  should 
not  let  the  ex-king  know,  that  we  were  hoping  he  would  come 
and  that  the  white  medicine-man  was  still  here. 

After  the  spy  had  been  allowed  to  re-cross  the  river,  I  con- 


OUR  STATIONS  ON  THE  NILE  197 

suited  with  the  three  Soudanese  officers,  and  we  got  everything 
ready  to  give  Kabarega  a  warm  reception  if  he  did  venture  to 
attack  us.  However,  he  did  not  come  near  us  ;  he  sent  instead 
an  armed  band  to  raid  our  friendlies  and  to  capture  slaves.  It 
happened,  that  the  Shuli  had  also  sent  an  armed  raiding  band  for 
the  same  purpose.  These  two  bands,  having  crossed  the  river 
unknown  to  each  other,  met,  and  taking  each  other  for  the 
enemy,  they  at  once  had  a  hotly  contested  fight.  Under  cover 
of  darkness  each  party  escaped  and  re-crossed  the  river,  leaving 
their  dead  on  the  field.  About  twenty  men  were  killed  on  each 
side.  This  extraordinary  mistake,  that  friends  should  turn  their 
weapons  against  each  other  and  slaughter  each  other,  was  attri- 
buted by  the  superstitious  natives  to  the  magic  arts  of  the  white 
medicine-man.  It  had,  however,  one  good  result,  our  friendlies 
were  left  for  a  while  unmolested  by  ex-king  Kabarega  and  his 
Shuli  allies. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT. 

THERE  are  two  Government  stations  on 
Lake  Albert,  almost  opposite  to  each 
other,  —  Kibero  on  the  east  shore, 
Mahaji  on  the  west.  The  former  is 
inhabited  by  Wanyoro,  the  latter  by  the  Lur. 
These  are  two  distinct  races,  differing  in  language, 
dress,  and  mode  of  life.  The  native  village  at 
Kibero  is  a  thriving  place,  and  it  possesses  a 
paying  industry  ;  but  Major  Thruston,  who  saw 
it  in  King  Kabarega's  days  and  before  it  fell  into 
lur  children.  British  hands,  told  me  that  formerly  it  was  three 
times  the  size  it  is  now.  It  has  therefore  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  war  waged  against  King 
Kabarega.  A  few  of  the  men  wear  bark-cloth,  but  the 
majority  are  dressed  in  cowhides  thrown  like  a  cloak  about  the 
body.  The  women  have  short  petticoats  of  bark-cloth  reaching 
from  the  waist  to  below  the  knees.  The  covering  of  boys  is 
usually  a  mantle  of  goat-skin,  but  girls  up  to  puberty  go  un- 
covered. Babies  are  carried  on  the  back  in  a  sort  of  leathern 
sling  supported  by  the  mother's  shoulders  and  waist.  This  leaves 
the  legs,  arms,  and  head  of  the  baby  free.  Almost  every  family 
owns  a  few  goats  or  sheep.  The  boys  work  as  goatherds  or 
shepherds,  but  the  girls  help  their  mothers  in  the  great  local  salt- 
industry. 

There  seems  to  be  an  inexhaustible  wealth  of  salt  here.  Some 
day  European  appliances  and  European  enterprise  may  turn  this 
industry  into  a  most  valuable  and  paying  concern.  In  King 
Kabarega's  reign  one  of  the  chiefs  secured  for  himself  and  his 
followers  the  monopoly  of  the  manufacture,  and  paid  for  the 

concession  a  tribute  or  rent  of  one  thousand  loads  of  salt 

198 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  199 


annually.  When  the  British  Government,  having  expelled  King 
Kabarega,  took  over  Kibero,  this  tribute  or  rent  was  reduced, 
owing  to  the  great  diminution  in  the  population,  to  three  hundred 


IN  THE  NATIVE  VILLAGE  AT  KIBERO. 


loads  of  salt  annually,  each  load  to  weigh  30  lbs.,  in  other  words, 
9000  lbs.  of  salt  per  annum.  The  salt-industry  is  worked  exclu- 
sively by  women  and  girls.  A  brisk  trade  is  carried  on.  At  Hoima 
one  Mganda  asked  me  for  a  "  permit "  to  send  sixty  of  his  men 
to  buy  salt  at  Kibero.  There  is  no  other  industry  in  this  locality. 
Agriculture  proved  a  failure  owing  to  the  excessive  amount  of 
salt  in  the  soil.  The  salt  is  bartered  in  exchange  for  food  sup- 
plies, cloth,  and  shells.  Fishing  would  be  sure  to  pay.  I  saw 
Soudanese  boys  constantly  catching  fish,  but  the  natives  are 
either  too  lazy  or  find  it  easier  to  purchase  canoe-loads  of  fish 
from  the  lake-dwellers  higher  up,  who  bring  their  catch  to  the 
Kibero  market.  The  Kibero  salt  is  greyish-white,  but  not  at 
all  unpleasant  to  eat,  though  prepared  in  the  crudest  possible 
manner.  The  European  naturally  prefers  the  white  table-salt 
from  England,  if  he  has  any  left  among  his  provisions,  but 
should  he  have  run  out  of  it,  there  would  be  no  hardship  in 
using  the  native  salt. 

The  salt  is  extracted  by  a  very  simple  process.    The  soil  is 


200 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


first  of  all  scraped  together  into  small  mounds  about  a  foot  high. 
It  is  then  loosely  scattered  over  the  surface,  apparently  to  let  it 
dry  in  the  sun,  and  all  obvious  impurities  are  removed.  Two 
earthen  vessels  are  required,  one  large,  the  other  small.  A  few 
stones  are  arranged  so  as  to  support  the  larger  vessel,  and  the 
smaller  vessel  is  then  placed  underneath  it.  The  larger  acts  as  a 
percolator,  the  smaller  as  a  receiver.  There  is  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  percolator,  blocked  with  tiny  pebbles  in  such  a 
manner,  that  the  fluid  can  only  pass  through  in  drops.  The 
scraped-up  soil  is  now  placed  in  the  percolator  and  slightly  over- 
saturated  with  water,  and  the  mass  is  stirred  about  with  the 
hands.     The  slight  excess  of  water  trickles  past  the  pebbles 


on  the  adjoining  refuse-heap  which  in  course  of  time  becomes  a 
regular  wall  of  earth.  As  a  rule,  each  woman  attends  to  but  one 
set  of  earthen  vessels.  When  the  day's  work  is  done,  the  saline 
water,  earthen  vessels,  and  scoop  are  carried  home  in  a  narrow 
wooden  trough  which  no  doubt  has  come  into  use  to  prevent 
the  loss  of  any  of  the  precious  saline  fluid,  should  it  happen  to 
splash  out  on  the  way  home.  This  saline  water  is  boiled  down 
at  home  and  yields  up  its  salt. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  process  of  manufacture  is  so  crude, 


man  scoops 
out  the  soil 
which  has 
yielded  up  its 
share  of  salt, 
and  throws  it 


THE  SALT-INDUSTRY  AT  KIBERO. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  201 


that  only  a  small  portion  of  the  salt  is  really  extracted,  and  the 
waste  is  considerable  ;  but  there  is  such  a  superabundance  of 
fresh  material  to  work  upon,  that  it  would  not  pay  to  waste 
more  time  on  each  potful  of  soil  subjected  to  this  treatment. 
In  hot  sunny  weather  the  whole  female  community  is  as  busy 
as  bees  ;  but  rainy  weather  puts  at  once  a  temporary  stop  to 
the  work,  because  the  natives  do  not  even  take  the  trouble  to 
put  up  a  slight  shed  to  protect  from  the  rain  the  particular 
spot  which  they  happen  to  be  working  at.  Should  the  hollow, 
where  they  work,  get  swamped  by  the  rain,  they  abandon  it 
for  the  time  and  proceed  to  tackle  a  fresh  patch.  When  the 
salt  is  ready,  it  is  made  up  into  small  loads  weighing  from  5 
lbs.  to  30  lbs.,  and  is  then  carried  by  the  men  to  the  different 
markets.  The  men  have  apparently  no  other  work  to  do,  and 
in  the  meanwhile  smoke  and  loaf  about  all  day  in  an  open 
shed,  evidently  their  African  club-room. 

Melindwa,  the  chief,  brought  me  a  present  of  salt  which  I 
distributed  among  my  Soudanese  escort  and  Swahili  porters. 

Close  to  where  the  salt-industry  is  carried  on,  there  are  a 
dozen  or  more  hot  sulphur-springs  which  bubble  out  of  the 
ground  at  the  foot  of  the  range  of  hills  east  of  Kibero.  Where 
it  emerges  from  the  soil,  the  water  is  boiling  hot,  but  even  a  short 
run  of  a  hundred  yards  in  the  open  air  cools  the  water  sufficiently 
to  enable  one  to  enjoy  a  warm  bath.  Just  for  the  novelty  of  the 
thing  I  indulged  on  the  spot  in  such  a  bath,  a  cosy  corner 
rendering  the  place  absolutely  private  ;  but  I  found  it  more 
convenient  afterwards  to  have  the  hot  water  brought  to  my 
tent.  The  water  forms  narrow  channels,  and  has  only  to  flow 
a  few  hundred  yards  to  reach  Lake  Albert.  There  is  a  yellowish 
slimy  incrustation  on  the  pebbles  over  which  the  hot  water  flows. 

I  discovered  some  similar  hot  springs,  six  of  them,  all  lying 
close  together,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  about  two  and 
a  half  hours  from  Mahaji ;  they  have  only  three  to  five  feet  to 
run  to  reach  the  lake.  They  issue  from  the  grassy  foot  of  the 
hills  which  border  the  lake.  I  do  not  know  if  Emin  Pasha  was 
aware  of  their  existence.  It  is  rather  curious  that  there  should 
be  hot  springs  on  both  sides  of  the  lake.  The  water  of  the  lake 
has  a  slightly  mawkish  taste. 

During  my  stay  at  Kibero  I  succeeded,  but  not  till  I  had  put 
some  pressure  on  chief  Melindwa,  in  getting  sanitary  require- 
ments added  to  every  dwelling,  and  suitably  screened  off.  The 


202 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Soudanese  settlement  was  already  provided,  but  to  the  native 
population  it  was  a  novelty.  For  generations  they  had  used  the 
adjoining  scrub,  the  condition  of  which  may  be  imagined.  If 
plague  germs  by  any  chance  had  been  conveyed  to  this  locality, 
they  would  have  found  the  exisiting  insanitary  condition  the 
very  thing  for  fostering  their  dissemination. 

The  official  quarters  at  Kibero  consist  of  three  grass-huts. 
The  two  larger  huts  are  built  in  the  Swahili  style  ;  one  for  the 
European  and  the  other  for  his  servants.  On  my  second  visit 
I  found  a  third  hut  erected.  It  was  in  the  Soudanese  pattern, 
circular,  and  sufficiently  large  to  serve  as  a  kitchen.  Of  all  the 
methods  of  thatching,  the  Swahili  is  the  worst.    The  roof  often 


MY  QUARTERS  AT  KIBERO. 


leaks  when  quite  new,  and  after  a  very  short  exposure  to  the 
weather  it  is  almost  certain  to  let  the  rain  pass  freely.  On  my 
first  visit  a  thunder-storm  broke  over  the  place  during  the  night. 
I  woke  up  with  the  drip-drip-drip  of  the  rain  falling  on  me. 
With  difficulty  I  managed  to  light  a  candle,  as  some  of  the  drops 
had  splashed  on  the  wick,  and  for  some  time  it  only  spluttered 
in  response  to  the  match.  My  bed  was  soaked,  and  a  score  of 
leaks  in  other  parts  of  the  hut  did  not  hold  out  much  chance 
of  a  dry  corner  to  sleep  in.  My  umbrella  was  not  large  enough 
to  crouch  under  and  sleep.  Looking  around  in  search  of  some 
sort  of  shelter,  I  caught  sight  of  the  ground-sheet  of  my  tent. 
At  once  I  crept  under  it.  It  was  rather  an  undignified  position, 
but  a  welcome  protection  all  the  same.  Though  not  the  most 
cheerful  way  of  spending  the  night,  I  knew  from  experience  that 
it  is  possible  to  fare  worse. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  203 


These  huts  are  only  25  yards  from  the  water.  Imagination 
might  draw  quite  a  pleasant  picture  from  certain  given  facts  : — 
a  private  hut  close  to  the  sea,  the  only  European  within  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  summer  heat,  shallow  water,  and  patches  of 
sandy  beach.  But  the  reality  is  a  climb  down  from  any  lofty 
flights  indulged  in  by  the  imagination :  the  hut  leaks  like  a  sieve, 
no  European  help  is  near  in  case  of  danger  or  illness,  every 
precaution  is  necessary  to  avoid  sun-stroke,  the  water  harbours 
crocodiles,  and  the  beach  is  rendered  offensive  and  injurious  by 
savages  untrammelled  by  hygienic  or  any  other  considerations. 

On  my  third  journey  across  Lake  Albert,  I  was  entrusted 
with  the  duty  of  taking  arrears  of  pay  and  rations  to  the  Mahaji 
garrison,  and  of  installing  Nur  Abdel  Bain  Effendi  as  officer  in 
command.  I  was  also  to  select  a  number  of  men  to  form  the 
new  garrison  under  Nur  Effendi,  and  to  bring  the  others  back 
with  me.  For  this  purpose  some  native  dug-outs  were  to  ac- 
company me.  The  weather  was  unsettled  and  threatening,  and 
Imam  Effendi  advised  us  to  wait  for  a  day  or  two.  Both  sides 
of  the  lake  are  bordered  by  mountains,  and  until  the  weather  is 
sufficiently  clear  to  see  the  opposite  mountains,  it  is  considered 
unsafe  to  venture  across  the  lake  in  an  open  boat.  On  the  first 
fine  day,  we  embarked.  As  the  dug-outs  take  longer  to  cross, 
we  gave  them  a  start  of  four  hours.  At  5  p.m.  I  followed  in 
Her  Majesty's  steel-boat  Alexandra.  Sixteen  men  are  required 
1o  row  this  boat  across  the  lake,  eight  on,  eight  off  alternately, 
four  men  to  each  side.  A  little  grass-thatch  awning,  supported 
on  four  sticks,  is  put  up  near  the  stern,  in  order  to  provide  the 
European  with  some  shelter  against  the  tropical  sun.  I  had 
shot  that  afternoon  a  young  crocodile,  and  some  of  the  Soudanese 
had  asked  me  to  let  them  eat  it.  This  inspired  my  Swahilies 
with  an  impromptu  boat-song,  the  chorus  of  which  was — 

"  Wanubi  Kula  mamba, 

Kula  mamba,  Kula  mamba, 
Wanubi  Kula  mamba  !  " 

The  last  syllable  of  each  word  was  yelled  out  fortissimo,  with 
the  mouth  as  wide  open  as  possible  ;  what  Milton  would  call 
"  linked  sweetness  long  drawn  out."    The  translation  is — 

"  The  Soudanese  eat  crocodiles, 
Eat  crocodiles,  eat  crocodiles, 
The  Soudanese  eat  crocodiles  !  " 


2o4  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


I  had  eight  Swahili  porters  and  eight  Soudanese  soldiers,  each 
set  taking  it  in  turn  to  row  for  an  hour.  The  boat  was  heavily 
laden  with  the  bales  of  cloth,  representing  the  arrears  of  pay  tor 
the  Mahaji  garrison. 

All  went  well  until  about  midnight,  and  it  was  nearly  full 
moon.  I  was  peacefully  slumbering,  when  all  of  a  sudden  a 
terrific  thunder-storm  burst  over  us  and  covered  us  with  dense 


HER  MAJESTY'S  STEEL-BOAT  M  ALEXANDRA  "  ON  LAKE  ALBERT  NYANZA. 

darkness,  illumined  by  fearfully  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  the 
glare  of  which  blinded  us.  It  is  usually  easy  to  steer  the  boat 
by  keeping  the  opposite  mountain-chain  in  view,  but  now  the 
man  at  the  helm  could  only  steer  according  as  the  fitful  lightning 
disclosed  the  tops  of  the  distant  mountain-range.  The  waves 
were  tumultuous,  and  the.  boat  danced  like  a  cork  on  the  top  of 
the  billows.  Every  now  and  again  a  big  wave  washed  over  us 
and  threatened  to  engulf  us.  The  boat  was  steadily  filling,  and 
every  man  toiled  for  dear  life,  either  rowing,  or  baling  out  the 
water.    I  was  miserably  sea-sick.    Most  of  the  men  were  very 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ABLERT  205 


ill,  one  of  them  even  bringing  up  blood.  In  the  morning  the 
storm  abated  somewhat.  We  made  for  the  nearest  land  and  got 
ashore,  thankful  to  Providence  that  the  boat  had  outlived  the 
storm.  We  did  not  quite  know  where  we  were,  but  felt  sure 
that  if  we  kept  straight  towards  the  mountains,  we  must  cut 
across  some  footpath  between  the  mountains  and  the  lake.  We 
had  a  nasty  scramble  through  thorny  jungle,  but  luckily  found 
the  footpath  and  now  toiled  along  it.  We  were  all  wet  through, 
and  chilled  with  the  bath  in  which  we  had  sat  for  so  many 
hours  with  our  clothes  on.  A  couple  of  men  hurried  ahead  to 
have  a  fire  ready  for  us.  What  was  our  surprise,  when  we  found 
we  were  nowhere  near  Mahaji,  and  that  we  had  returned  to 
Kibero  !  The  storm  overtook  us,  when  we  were  about  half-way 
across  the  lake ;  in  the  darkness  we  must  have  moved  round  in 
a  circle  and  finally  steered  back  towards  Kibero. 

A  grilling  hot  day  succeeded.  We  were  able  to  dry 
our  belongings  and  such  of  the  Government  bales,  as  had 
got  soaked.  Most  of  my  men  were  ill  and  exhausted ;  but 
to  my  surprise  no  attack  of  fever  fell  on  me,  though  1  fully 
expected  it. 

A  somewhat  similar  misadventure  once  happened  to  me  in 
my  boyhood,  when  my  brother  and  I  were  on  a  walking  tour  in 
Scotland.  We  had  rested  in  an  inn  at  the  foot  of  a  range 
of  hills,  and  we  decided  to  cross  to  the  other  side  of  the  hills 
before  night.  The  guide  led  us  along  a  sheep  track,  but  when 
it  grew  dusk  he  deserted  us.  We  pushed  on  steadily  in  the 
direction  indicated,  lost  the  path,  and  floundered  every  now 
and  again  up  to  our  knees  in  boggy  mud-holes.  When  we 
reached  the  precipitous  descent,  we  saw  in  the  valley  below  us 
an  inn,  and  we  thought  that  it  looked  very  much  like  the  one 
we  had  left  in  the  afternoon  ;  but  we  attributed  this  to  fancy, 
because  we  had  to  be  ferried  across  a  small  stream  which 
we  had  not  noticed  when  we  started.  It  was  not  till  we  were 
greeted  by  the  same  landlord,  that  we  realised  we  had  moved 
in  a  circle  back  to  our  starting-point. 

It  is  singular  to  have  had  a  repetition  of  such  an  experience 
in  the  heart  of  Africa,  on  one  of  the  great  lakes,  and  with  suit- 
able accompaniment  of  tumultuous  waves,  thunder,  lightning, 
and  rain. 

As  soon  as  the  weather  permitted  it,  we  made  another  attempt 
to  cross  the  lake,  but  this  time  during  the  day.    We  reached 


2o6  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Mahaji  safely,  and  in  time  for  an  afternoon  cup  of  tea  in  front 
of  the  hut  built  for  the  use  of  European  officials  on  the  slope  of 
the  hill. 

In  the  steel-boat  it  took  me  ten  hours,  twelve  hours,  and 
eight  and  a  half  hours  respectively  to  cross  Lake  Albert.  I 
believe  the  quickest  passage  recorded  has  been  a  few  minutes 
under  eight  hours. 

Mahaji  is  perched  on  the  top  of  a  hill ;  Kibero  is  built  on  a 
plain.  At  Kibero  no  attempt  is  made  at  agriculture.  At  Mahaji 
banana  groves  and  fields  of  Kaffre-corn  supply  the  natives  with 


AFTERNOON  TEA  AT  MAHAJI. 


food  and  labour.  At  Kibero  only  scrub  and  undergrowth  is 
found  ;  Mahaji  is  well  wooded. 

Nur  Effendi  had  safely  crossed  in  the  dug-out,  but  told  me 
that  he  and  his  were  very  nearly  drowned.  He  must  indeed 
have  had  an  awful  time  of  it,  remembering  what  we  had  ex- 
perienced in  the  large  steel-boat.  Two  other  dug-outs  with 
Swahilies  had  also  succeeded  in  crossing  ;  but  the  officer  at 
Mahaji  had  promptly  placed  the  men  under  supervision,  in 
case  they  should  turn  out  to  be  fugitive  deserters.  The  other 
canoes  had  all  speedily  returned  to  Kibero,  fearing  to  face 
the  elements.  Therefore  no  loss  of  life  at  sea  resulted  from 
the  storm. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  207 


Having  selected  the  twenty-five  men  to  form  the  new  garrison, 
I  made  arrangements  to  ship  the  others  to  Kibero  with  their 
women,  children,  followers,  and  belongings. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  among  the  garrison  on  receiving 
their  arrears  of  pay.  The  Effendi  had  quite  a  tidy  sum  owing  to 
him,  represented  by  a  good  many  bales  of  cloth. 

The  native  chief  brought  me  a  couple  of  chickens  and  a  few 
eggs.  I  went  to  visit  his  village,  and  at  the  very  entrance  1  came 
across  a  most  interesting  group.  A  young  man,  tall,  well-built, 
and  muscular,  stood  with  a  spear  in  his  hand  ;  by  the  door  of 
the  hut  was  his  wife  in  the  full  bloom  of  youth  ;  an  urchin 
was  playing  on  the  ground.  The  whole  scene,  full  of  tranquil 
peace,  recalled  the  condition  of  mankind  at  the  dawn  of  history. 
The  sort  of  leathern  sling,  in  which  Lur  babies  are  carried,  is  a 
strong  support  to  the  weak  spine  of  babyhood,  and  at  the  same 
time  allows  a  full  and  free  motion  to  head,  arms,  and  legs. 
The  baby  partly  sits  in  this  leathern  support.  There  are  no 
crooked  or  bandy-legged  individuals  in  the  whole  race.  Only 
small  children  go  about  uncovered. 

The  spear  carried  by  every  adult  male,  is  a  business-like 
weapon,  evidently  not  meant  for  show.  I  saw  neither  shields, 
nor  bows,  nor  swords.  The  spear-head  is  somewhat  like  the 
Kavirondo  one,  small  and  narrow ;  it  is  continuous  with  a 
tubular  iron  prolongation  one  to  two  feet  in  length,  into  which 
the  wooden  shaft  of  the  spear  is  inserted. 

A  queer  fashion  with  many  of  the  young  warriors  was  the 
chignon-like  bunch  of  gay  feathers  attached  to  the  occiput. 
The  men  wore  more  ornaments  than  the  women.  Necklaces 
and  bracelets  of  bright-coloured  beads  were  very  fashionable 
with  the  men.  A  few  of  the  elders  wore  ivory  bracelets  and 
anklets.  The  men  never  went  uncovered,  and  in  this  respect 
were  much  more  particular  than  the  women.  Many  of  the 
women  had  their  heads  clean  shaved. 

The  Lur  women  occupy,  as  regards  dress,  a  position  mid- 
way between  the  Makraka  with  their  bunches  of  leaves  and  the 
Kavirondo  with  their  tails  of  plaited  strings.  They  wear  the 
Makraka  leaves  and  the  Kavirondo  tails.  In  the  Lur  village  I 
saw  a  woman  carrying  an  enormous  burden  of  firewood  on  her 
head.  It  was  a  proof  of  the  abundance  of  firewood  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  logs  of  wood  are  tied  into  a  long  cone- 
shaped  bundle  eight  to  ten  feet  long.    By  this  arrangement  the 


208  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

huge  load  can  be  raised  to  the  head  without  requiring  any  great 
muscular  exertion  of  the  arms.  The  load  is  first  of  all  propped 
against  the  nearest  tree,  but  with  the  narrow  end  resting  on  the 
ground.  By  bending  the  head,  covered  with  a  protective  grass- 
pad,  towards  the  load,  but  nearer  its  top-heavy  end,  only  a  slight 
effort  is  necessary  to  balance  the  whole  mass  on  the  head. 
With  a  little  practice  the  women  know  exactly  where  the  wood 

should  be  bal- 
anced, so  as  not 
to  require  the 
support  of  a 
hand  to  keep  it 
on  the  head, 
as  she  walks 
home  with  it. 
The  woman  car- 
ries a  staff  in 
her  hand,  and 
leans  against  it 
when  she  stops 
to  have  a  chat ; 
she  does  not 
trouble  to  un- 
burden herself 

LUR  WOMAN  CARRYING  A  LOAD  OF  WOOD.  Q£         ner  load. 

Most     of  the 

women  carried  a  knife  without  a  protective  sheath  ;  it  is  passed 
through  the  waist-belt,  and  usually  worn  on  the  right  thigh. 
It  is  curved  and  fairly  sharp,  but  is  not  meant  for  offence  or 
defence.  It  is  probably  next  to  the  cooking-pot  the  most 
necessary  household  article.  With  it  the  woman  harvests  the 
ears  of  matama-corn,  peels  sweet-potatoes  or  green  bananas  for 
dinner,  slices  the  grass-fibres  for  plaiting  the  fashionable  tail, 
and  uses  it  surgically  to  extract  thorns  and  splinters  of  wood. 

The  Lur  at  Mahaji  are  a  quiet,  industrious,  and  well-to-do 
community.  Their  fields  and  banana-groves,  their  fowls,  goats, 
and  sheep,  provide  them  with  every  necessary  and  luxury  they 
can  think  of ;  and  hence  they  pass  a  happy  and  peaceful 
existence,  protected  by  the  Soudanese  garrison  from  being 
molested  by  hostile  or  envious  neighbours. 

Whilst  I  was  at  Mahaji,  another  severe  thunder-storm  occurred. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  209 


I  passed  a  very  unpleasant  night ;  for  although  the  hut  in  this 
case  was  water-tight,  I  fully  expected  either  that  the  hut  would 
be  blown  down  or  the  tree  behind  it  would  be  uprooted  and  fall 
on  the  top  of  it.  More  than  once  I  was  on  the  point  of  leaving 
the  hut  and  exposing  myself  to  the  fury  of  the  elements  outside, 
in  preference  to  being  squashed  inside  the  hut.  In  the  morning 
the  news  was  brought  to  us  that  the  steel-boat  Alexandra  was  a 
wreck.  The  force  of  the  waves  had  caused  a  number  of  screws 
which  bound  the  transverse  sections  together,  to  snap  off,  and 
the  boat  had  parted  amid-ships.  What  a  blessing  my  crew  and 
I  were  safe  ashore  !  And  what  a  singular  proof  how  near  we 
had  been  to  death  on  that  fearful  night-storm  at  sea  !  What  a 
piece  of  good  luck  that  the  boat  should  have  held  together  long 
enough  to  enable  us  to  reach  Mahaji  !  Other  local  disasters 
were  reported,  amongst  them  the  death  of  one  native  woman. 
The  force  of  the  wind  must  have  been  very  great,  to  have 
overthrown  the  big  tree  which  I  saw  lying  uprooted  in  the 
village. 

Very  little  damage  was  done,  however,  to  the  dwellings. 
Some  of  the  grass-thatch  of  the  Lur  corn-stores  was  blown  about 
a  bit.  The  Lur  dwellings  are  oval  and  low,  the  grass-thatch 
reaches  right  down  to  the  ground,  and  the  entrance  projects 
slightly  forward  like  a  portico. 

One  of  the  objects  of  my  visit  to  Mahaji  was  the  selection  of 
a  site  for  a  leper  establishment.  I  had  met  with  cases  of  leprosy 
in  different  parts  of  Unyoro,  and  my  suggestion  to  collect  the 
lepers,  and  to  isolate  them  at  Mahaji,  was  favourably  received  by 
the  officer  in  command  of  Unyoro.  The  advantages  offered  by 
Mahaji  were  :  removal  of  the  lepers  from  Unyoro,  their  isolation, 
and  an  abundant  local  supply  of  food  for  them.  A  hill  near  the 
Lur  village  was  selected  and  the  ground  cleared.  Huts  were 
being  erected,  and  two  women  had  already  been  transferred  to 
the  new  leper  station,  when,  owing  to  the  Soudanese  mutiny,  the 
work  had  to  be  discontinued  and  I  was  recalled  in  a  hurry  to 
Masindi.  But  the  difficulty  was  how  to  get  back  to  Kibero, 
as  the  steel-boat  was  a  wreck,  and  storms  were  of  daily  occur- 
rence. Acting  on  the  advice  of  Kiza,  in  charge  of  the  Wanyoro 
dug-outs,  it  was  decided  to  proceed  in  a  dug-out  to  Tuk- 
wenda's,  and  from  there  to  cross  the  lake  at  its  narrow 
northern  end.  This  proved,  indeed,  a  quicker  way  of  reach- 
ing Kibero  than  waiting  at  Mahaji  for  the  weather  to  clear 

O 


2IO 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


sufficiently  to  risk  crossing  the  lake  in  a  dug-out  direct  from 
Mahaji  to  Kibero.  The  steel-boat  had  of  course  to  be  aban- 
doned at  Mahaji.  Tukwenda  is  a  friendly  Lur  chief  on  the 
north-west  shore  of  the  lake. 

The  rapidity  with  which  these  thunder-storms  appear  on 
Lake  Albert,  reminds  one  of  the  warning  sent  by  the  prophet 
to  king  Ahab,  as  soon  as  ever  a  cloud  of  the  size  of  a  man's 
hand  appeared  on  the  horizon,  lest  the  rain  should  stop  him. 
Experience  had  taught  us  to  keep  close  to  the  shore,  to  be  able 


LUR  CORN-STORES. 


to  take  refuge  on  land  in  case  a  storm  should  burst  upon  us. 
However,  we  reached  our  camp  without  a  mishap,  and  the  Lur 
chief  Tukwenda  at  once  paid  me  a  visit. 

He  is  a  tall  elderly  man,  of  courteous  and  noble  bearing, 
simply  clad  in  a  cowhide  mantle  with  his  muscular  arms  left 
bare.  He  wore  no  ornaments,  and  his  example  had  evidently 
influenced  his  tribe.  The  men  were  all  more  or  less  well- 
covered.  Tukwenda  brought  me  a  present  of  a  splendid  fat- 
tailed  sheep  ;  as  African  etiquette  requires  a  return  present  of 
at  least  the  same  value,  I  delighted  Tukwenda  and  his  whole 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  211 


tribe  by  my  gift  of  a  bright  yellow  cotton  cloth  known  locally 
as  a  "  kanga."  This  piece  of  cloth  had  cost  me  originally  at 
Kampala  two  and  a  half  rupees,  about  three  shillings,  here  it 
was  worth  double  that  amount.  I  could  have  bought  the 
fattest  sheep  at  Tukwenda's  for  about  half-a-crown  ;  my  gift 
was  therefore  appreciated,  and  Tukwenda  became  exceedingly 
friendly  and  invited  me  to  visit  him  at  his  kraal. 

The  mountain-chain,  which  at  Mahaji  abuts  on  the  lake, 
gradually  recedes  from  the  shore  in  a  north-westerly  direction, 
and  thus  leaves  a  large  and  gradually  broadening  out  plain 
between  it  and  the  lake.  This  plain  is  Tukwenda's  realm.  It 
is  a  most  fertile  and  prosperous  country,  as  the  numerous  and 
thriving  kraals  testify.  Pleasant  trees  dot  the  surface,  and  in 
some  parts,  as  at  Pongo,  where  I  shot  my  first  elephant,  there 
are  virgin  forests,  visited  by  herds  of  elephants.  The  lake,  one 
would  imagine,  would  cause  these  lake-dwellers  to  be  fishermen  ; 
but,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  fish-baskets  sunk  to  trap  the 
fish,  no  attempt  is  made  at  fishing,  either  with  a  net  or  with 
hook  and  line.  A  number  of  small  dug-outs  go  out  daily  in 
search  of  dead  fish,  which  are  picked  up  floating  on  the  water. 
A  huge  fish  carried  on  a  pole  by  two  men  was  brought  to 
me.  It  was  mottled  with  green  and  black  spots  and  had  a 
big  head.  The  jaws  displayed  a  ferocious  set  of  teeth  which 
could  easilv  snap  off  a  man's  foot  or  arm.  My  men  called 
it  the  Kambari-ya-fisi  or  hyaena-fish,  a  suggestive  and  appro- 
priate name.  I  felt  no  inclination  to  taste  such  a  horrid- 
looking  creature,  especially  as  it  was  picked  up  dead  ;  I 
therefore  declined  the  present  which  Lur  taste  considered  a 
delicacy. 

On  visiting  Tukwenda's  kraal  he  introduced  to  me  his  three 
daughters,  fine  young  girls,  wearing  the  customary  tail  and 
bunch  of  leaves.  The  youngest  had  her  upper  lip  pierced,  and 
wore  in  it  a  small  ring  of  red,  blue,  and  white  beads.  The 
second  had  pierced  her  lower  lip  instead,  and  wore  in  it  what 
looked  like  a  cribbage-peg.  The  eldest  girl  had  shaved  her 
head,  excepting  a  patch  on  the  top,  which  looked  as  if  she 
sported  a  woollen  skull-cap ;  the  second  girl  had  made  a  clean 
shave  of  it  altogether,  and  the  youngest  had  left  a  tiny  top- 
knot of  wool.  These  three  girls  were  apparently  his  favourite 
daughters  ;  for  he  had  such  a  vast  number  of  wives,  that  one 
kraal  was  insufficient  to  house  them  all,  and  he  had  to  build 


212 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


several  kraals  or  villages  for  them.  He  certainly  had  a  good 
number  of  babies.  There  was  one  in  particular,  which  I  wanted 
to  photograph  in  the  sling  on  its  mother's  back,  because  the 
mother  had  decorated  the  child's  leathern  receptacle  with  long 
streamers  which  looked  very  picturesque  and  reminded  me  of 
young  English  mothers  decking  their  baby's  cot  with  bright- 
coloured  ribbons  and  lace.  Photographers  in  England  could 
not  get  on  without  mothers  who  want  their  children  to  be 


MY  TENT. 


photographed.  But  this  African  mother  was  terrified  for  her 
baby's  life,  in  presence  of  the  white  medicine-man's  mysterious 
camera  ;  she  fled,  and  hid  herself  and  her  baby. 

Tukwenda,  too,  made  diligent  inquiry  amongst  my  men  to 
know,  if  my  magic  was  likely  to  have  any  injurious  effects  upon 
his  own  life  ;  whereupon  my  boys  assured  him  that  it  would 
produce  untold  blessings.  I  sincerely  hope  he  has  not  been 
visited  by  famine,  pestilence,  or  hostile  slave-hunters  since  I  left, 
or  the  next  European  calling  on  him  with  a  camera  might 
receive  anything  but  a  friendly  welcome. 

Both  at  Kibero  and  Mahaji  I  saw  but  few  water-fowl,  but  at 
Tukwenda's  there  were  a  good  many.  The  very  day  I  arrived, 
as  my  boat  drew  near  the  landing-place,  I  bowled  over  two  wild 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  213 


geese  with  one  shot.  They  were  exceptionally  tender  and 
unusually  good  eating. 

I  have  often  seen  pictures  of  a  bull  making  a  hostile  demon- 
stration, but  my  first  personal  experience,  of  what  the  situation 
is  like,  I  was  to  have  at  Tukwenda's.  A  magnificent  black  bull 
was  returning  to  his  kraal  past  my  camp,  and  was  greatly  upset 
by  the  presence  of  the  tent  and  the  strangers.  Uttering  loud 
bellowings  he  came  on  in  a  sharp  trot  for  a  visit  of  inspection. 
In  a  moment  the  camp  was  empty.  I  hurriedly  snatched  up  my 
rifle  and  loaded  it  ;  but  what  did  the  bull  know  about  a  loaded 
rifle  or  any  possible  harm  from  it  to  himself !  Even  Tukwenda's 
men  had  bolted,  calling  out  that  it  was  a  most  dangerous  brute. 
Little  knots  of  men  stood  at  respectful  distances,  all  excitement 
and  curiosity  to  know  what  would  happen  next.  It  was  a  strik- 
ing picture ;  this  fine  animal,  standing  there  in  its  glorious 
strength,  with  its  powerful  neck,  fiercely  lashing  its  tail,  occasion- 
ally pawing  the  ground  with  its  fore-feet,  tossing  its  proud  head 
and  bellowing ;  and  there  was  weak  humanity,  but  armed  with 
the  loaded  rifle,  a  dangerous  foe  for  the  strongest  of  the  brute 
creation  to  encounter.  I  wished  myself  a  few  hundred  yards 
farther  off ;  but  as  I  had  to  face  the  situation,  I  held  my  rifle 
ready  to  fire  the  moment  the  bull  should  lower  its  head  and 
charge.  It  would  never  have  done  to  have  shot  the  bull  at  once, 
as  it  would  most  certainly  have  severed  all  friendly  intercourse 
with  Tukwenda. 

Fortunately  some  one  had  hurriedly  sent  for  the  bull's 
keeper,  a  six-year  old,  naked  little  urchin.  He  came  on  the 
scene,  and  before  the  bull  was  aware — switch ! — gave  the  brute 
a  whack  across  the  flank  with  a  long  lithe  reed  wand.  The 
effect  was  magical.  The  bull  became  most  humble,  and  with 
a  deprecatory  toss  of  the  head  in  my  direction,  to  draw  the 
urchin's  attention  to  my  uncalled-for  intrusion  on  the  plain,  and 
with  a  sort  of  silent  request  to  be  allowed  to  finish  the  job  in 
hand,  the  bull  turned  away  from  my  camp  and  slowly  and 
regretfully  walked  away.  The  longing  to  have  one  more  stare  at 
me  and  my  tent  was  too  great ;  but,  switch  !  switch  !  a  double- 
hander  against  each  flank  drove  the  last  spark  of  fighting  out  of 
the  brute,  and  it  fairly  galloped  off,  amid  the  jeers  and  laughter 
of  the  hundreds  who  a  few  minutes  before  had  fled  helter- 
skelter  in  every  direction. 

Outside  the  village,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  "  madding 


2i4  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


crowd/'  I  came  upon  two  Lur  men  playing  the  native  game 
"  soro."    This  game  seems  common  to  a  great  part  of  Africa  ; 
the  Swahilies  at  the  coast  call  it  "bau,"  the  Soudanese  call  it 
"  lohe "  ;  but  though  the  name  may  change,  the  game  remains 
the  same.    Its  nearest  relatives  in  the  family  of  games  are  chess 
and  draughts  ;  it  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  maintains  a 
dignified  individuality.    The  board  and  stand  were  carved,  in 
the  present  instance,  out  of  a  single  solid  lump  of  wood.  There 
were  ten  rows  of  circular  depressions  and  four  of  these  de- 
pressions in  each 
row.     At  either 
end  was  a  large 
cup  -  shaped  hol- 
low to  hold  each 
player's  pellets. 

If  introduced 
into  Europe,  we 
should  probably 
have  the  game  as 
a  polished  piece 
of  walnut  -  wood 
and  pretty  glass 
marbles  to  play  it 
with.  But  native 
ingenuity  was  at 
no  loss  lo  supply 
the  necessary 
counters  for  the 

game.  The  men  were  using  the  dry  pellets  of  goat  droppings  ! 
They  were  deeply  absorbed  in  the  game.  It  consists  in  placing 
a  pellet  into  each  depression  in  turn,  first  on  your  own  side  and 
then  invading  the  enemy's  rows.  When  the  game  is  in  full 
swing,  the  player  takes  the  pellets  out  of  any  one  of  his  spaces, 
and  distributes  them  always  in  the  same  single  fashion.  If  his 
last  pellet  drops  into  a  space  belonging  to  the  enemy,  he  scoops 
up  all  in  the  adjoining  depression,  till  the  game  ends  somewhat 
in  the  style  of  "  Beggar  my  neighbour."  That  there  is  a  certain 
amount  of  skill  necessary  is  self-evident  ;  and  to  judge  from  its 
being  a  universal  favourite  amongst  totally  different  races,  the 
game  must  have  some  popular  attraction.  It  was  a  curious  sight 
to  watch  these  two  savages,  almost  naked,  and  with  a  curious 


LUR  PLAYING  THE  NATIVE  GAME  "  SORO. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  215 


tuft  of  feathers  stuck  on  the  head,  interested  in  a  peaceful  homely 
game.     "  One  touch  of  Nature  makes  the  world  akin  ! " 

From  Tukwenda's  we  went  on  to  Pongo,  where  we  passed 
the  night.  From  Mahaji  to  Tukwenda's  we  had  high  mountains, 
densely  wooded  from  summit  to  base,  flanking  the  lake  ;  with 
mountain  streamlets  tossing  themselves  from  the  heights  above 
into  the  lake  in  sparkling  noisy  cascades  ;  with  birds  singing, 
twittering,  screaming  amid  the  green  foliage ;  with  monkeys 
of  different  species  going  through  their  amusing  antics  and 
gymnastics  from  branch  to  branch,  and  with  a  wild-cat  darting 
from  boulder  to  boulder  along  the  rock-bound  shore. 

From  Tukwenda's  to  Pongo  we  had  sunny  plains,  with  tall 
reeds  intercepting  the  view,  with  startled  water-fowl  of  many  a 
species  noisily  rising  on  the  wing,  with  many  a  "deep  and  glassy 
bay,"  with  cultivated  fields  stretching  almost  to  the  water's  edge, 
with  nestling  hamlets,  and  with  sombre  forests. 

At  Pongo  I  shot  some  of  the  black-and-white  Colobus 
monkeys  ;  their  skins  are  much  sought  after,  and  form  an  article 
of  commerce.  I  remember,  at  the  north  end  of  Lake  Nyassa, 
some  one  buying  forty  of  them.  A  gentleman  at  Kampala  showed 
me  a  dozen  of  these  skins  which  the  officer  at  Nandi  had  bought 
for  him.  These  monkeys  are  found  from  the  Eldoma  Ravine 
right  up  to  Kavirondo.  I  have  also  come  across  them  from 
Fajao  on  the  Victoria  Nile,  across  Unyoro,  as  far  as  the  west 
coast  of  Lake  Albert.  They  are  black  with  the  exception  of  a 
white  face,  a  white  tuft  to  the  tail,  and  a  fringe  of  long  white 
hairs  across  the  lower  part  of  the  back  and  along  the  flanks  up 
to  the  armpits.  They  have  only  four  fingers  to  each  hand, 
with  just  an  indication  of  the  missing  thumb,  but  five  toes  to 
each  foot. 

The  natives  of  Pongo  were  harassed  by  different  species  of 
animal  marauders.  Elephants  would  walk  across  their  culti- 
vations and  leave  huge  tracks  in  the  soft  soil  of  the  fields.  Then 
baboons  would  come  in  troops,  not  only  to  plunder  the  ripe 
corn,  but  to  cause  mischievous  and  wanton  injury  to  the  young 
green  plants. 

The  villagers  were  afraid  to  encounter  these  huge  fierce 
baboons  which  were  not  a  bit  afraid  of  them.  My  appearance 
on  the  scene  caused  the  brutes  reluctantly  to  move  off,  fiercely 
gnashing  their  teeth,  and  uttering  shrill  angry  screams  mingled 
with  sounds  somewhat  like  a  dog's  bark.    The  ringleader,  a  mon- 


2  l6 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


strous  big  fellow,  was  the  last  to  leave  the  field  which  they  were 
plundering  not  a  hundred  yards  from  my  tent.  I  aimed  at  the  big 
rascal,  with  his  hands  full  of  stolen  corn-heads.  I  gave  him  a 
Martini  'bullet.  He  threw  up  his  hands  and  fell  backwards, 
exactly  as  I  remember  seeing  a  man  do  who  was  shot  through 
the  chest  in  battle.  The  baboon  picked  himself  up  and  crawled 
towards  the  sheltering  jungle,  again  exactly  like  the  wounded 


COLOBUS  MONKEYS. 


man  did,  who  was  thus  vividly  recalled  to  my  mind.  I  had  no 
chance  of  firing  another  shot,  as  a  crowd  of  natives  rushed 
towards  the  wounded  animal ;  but  the  moment  it  had  got  into 
the  long  grass  of  the  jungle,  not  a  native  had  the  courage  to 
follow. 

The  heavy  blood-spoor  proved  that  the  fierce  brute  must  be 
in  extremis ;  I  therefore  went  in  pursuit.  My  own  men  accom- 
panied me,  and  thereupon  some  natives,  thus  encouraged,  joined 
us  too.    The  thorny,  impenetrable  nature  of  the  jungle  delayed 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  217 


us  for  a  long  while,  and  when  we  had  scrambled  through  and 
reached  the  forest,  the  blood-spoor  was  lost. 

Just  then  my  attention  was  drawn  to  some  beautiful  Colobus 
monkeys  scampering  off  in  the  very  topmost  boughs  of  the 
highest  trees.  I  secured  one  specimen  with  my  first  bullet.  My 
second  shot  badly  wounded  another,  which,  to  my  regret, 
dropped  from  her  arms  her  baby,  of  whose  existence  I  was  un- 
aware till  then.  I  had  to  fire  once  more  to  put  her  also  out  of 
pain.  I  felt  very  sorry  to  have  cut  short  the  baby-monkey's 
life  ;  it  was,  however,  interesting  to  see  that  the  fringe  of  long 
white  hairs  round  the  back  of  the  adult  was  only  represented 
by  a  patch  of  grey  woolly  hair  in  the  baby. 

My  Soudanese  escort  begged  me  to  let  them  have  the 
monkeys  to  eat,  and  they  proceeded  to  have  a  grand  feast. 
Monkeys,  when  skinned,  have  an  unpleasant  smell,  which  has 
rather  prejudiced  me.  I  have  therefore  not  tasted  this  dish 
which  so  many  natives  enjoy  with  relish.  Swahilies,  however, 
will  not  eat  monkeys,  but  with  them  the  prejudice  is,  as  they  told 
me  themselves,  that  they  consider  it  cannibalism  to  eat  either 
monkeys  or  human  beings.  They  hold,  untaught  by  Darwin, 
the  doctrine  that  monkeys  are  but  a  lower  type  of  human 
beings. 

The  daily  thunder-storm  at  Pongo,  for  a  change,  started  at 
early  dawn,  and  all  my  men  had  to  hold  on  to  the  poles  and 
ropes  of  my  tent  to  prevent  its  being  blown  to  pieces.  It  was  a 
short  but  sharp  storm,  and  the  condition  of  the  lake  afterwards 
was  such  that  no  canoe  could  have  lived  on  it. 

As  soon  as  the  waves  had  calmed  down,  we  embarked  in  the 
dug-outs  to  cross  the  lake  from  Pongo  in  the  Lur  country  to 
Rukuya  in  Unyoro.  The  Wanyoro  canoe-men  wore  a  sort  of 
eye-shade,  made  of  reeds,  to  protect  their  eyes  from  the  fierce 
glare  of  a  tropical  sun  shining  on  the  mirror-like  surface  of  this 
treacherous  lake  which  now  lay  as  calm  as  if  it  were  but  a  small 
sheltered  village  pool. 

I  noticed  something  white  floating  on  the  water  some 
distance  off,  and  suggested  it  might  be  a  dead  fish,  which  it 
turned  out  to  be  when  we  had  paddled  up  to  it.  It  was  a  big 
fish,  and  my  Wanyoro  gloated  over  the  feast  it  would  provide 
for  them  on  shore.  The  prize  was  at  once  hoisted  into  the  dug- 
out; but  when  the  Wanyoro  probed  its  goodness  with  their 
fingers,  the  squashy  sound  nearly  made  me  sick.    The  breeze 


218  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


fortunately  blew  the  overpowering  aroma  away  from  me,  or 
I  should  have  had  to  insist  on  its  being  consigned  back 
to  the  deep.  It  proved  to  me  that  neither  Lur  nor  Wanyoro 
are  particular,  when  it  comes  to  feeding  on  picked-up  dead 
fish. 

The  Wanyoro  have  pleasant-sounding  boat-songs  ;  the  tune 


WANYORO  CANOEMEN  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  WEARING  REED  EYE-SHADES. 

remains  the  same,  though  the  words  are  generally  impromptu, 
with  the  exception  of  the  chorus.    A  favourite  chorus  was — 

"  Nakluvere  voia,  voia, 
Nakluvere,  voia,  voia  ! " 

whatever  that  may  mean.  In  one  solo  there  were  constant 
allusions  to  various  articles  of  food  ;  the  song  was  evidently 
depicting  a  Sybarite  native  feast,  and  must  have  made  the 
mouths  of  the  men  water,  knowing  that  a  big  dead  fish  was 
lying  safely  in  the  dug-out  ready  to  be  cooked  and  eaten. 


ON  THE  SHORES  OF  LAKE  ALBERT  219 

We  saw  a  huge  pelican  on  the  water,  and  my  Wanyoro 
begged  me  for  it.  I  fired,  but  missed,  and  the  ungainly-looking 
bird  flew  up  and  swiftly  disappeared  in  the  dim  distance. 

From  Rukuya  we  hugged  the  east  shore  of  the  lake  till  we 
reached  Kibero.  Next  day  I  said  a  long  good-bye  to  Kibero 
and  Lake  Albert. 


THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  TUKWENDA. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


ELEPHANT-HUNTING. 

THE  Uganda  Protectorate  begins  at  the  Kedong.  Ele- 
phants are  occasionally  met  with  here ;  for  on  one 
journey  I  came  upon  fresh  elephant-spoor,  and  on  a 
subsequent  visit  upon  the  remains  of  a  recently  killed 
elephant.  Birds  and  beasts  of  prey  had  left  little  of  the  huge 
carcase  besides  the  skull,  the  heavier  bones,  and  some  lumps 
of  putrefying  hide  ;  yet  my  Wanyamwezi  porters  cooked  this 
mal-odorous  offal  over  their  camp-fires,  and  gorged  themselves 
with  as  much  gusto,  as  any  hyaena  or  vulture  might  display. 
But  it  was  in  Unyoro,  the  northern  limit  of  the  Protectorate, 
that  I  saw,  for  the  first  time,  wild  elephants.  This  happened  at 
Kibero,  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert.  I  had  gone  in  a  dug- 
out canoe  to  look  out  for  hippos,  said  to  be  present  about  here 
in  large  numbers. 

A  dug-out  canoe  is  simply  a  hollowed-out  tree-trunk.  The 
natives  use  rather  peculiar  paddles  which  look  somewhat  like 
a  huge  spade  with  a  slight  curve  backwards.  There  are  usually 
five  to  six  canoe-men.  One  man  sits  at  the  stern  and  steers 
with  his  paddle. 

We  pulled  along  for  perhaps  an  hour,  but  saw  only  one 
solitary  hippo  ;  and  he  did  not  wait  for  us  to  get  nearer  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  he  popped  his  head  under  water,  and 
we  saw  no  more  of  him.  We  had  selected  a  sandy  bit  of  beach 
to  land,  when  a  Soudanese  was  the  first  to  notice  the  unmis- 
takable signs  that  a  herd  of  elephants  had  recently  visited  this 
very  spot.  We  decided  to  follow  them  up,  and  we  came  upon 
the  herd  in  about  two  hours. 

But  before  we  started,  I  sent  the  dug-out  to  fetch  the  cook 
and  some  provisions,  and  to  bring  my  camp  -  bedstead  and 
blankets ;  and  another  of  my  men  I  told  off,  to  put  up  a  grass- 


ELEPHANT-HUNTING 


221 


hut  on  the  spot  to  shelter  me  for  the  night.  These  grass-huts 
can  be  run  up  in  half-an-hour  or  less,  and  are  very  primitive. 
About  a  dozen  long,  lithe  wands  are  cut  from  the  nearest 
shrubs,  or  from  the  reed-stalks  of  the  elephant-grass,  and  are 
stuck  an  inch  or  two  into  the  ground  in  a  circle.  By  bending 
the  reeds  towards  each  other,  and  fastening  the  ends  together 
with  wisps  of  grass,  and  then  piling  grass  over  this  beehive 
frame,  leaving  a  small  hole  open  to  serve  as  entrance,  the  hut 
is  ready. 

At  first  the  elephant  track  through  the  jungle  was  easy 
enough  to  follow,  but  soon  we  had  to  keep  to  the  spoor  of  one 
animal  only,  because  the  herd  had  spread  itself  out,  where  the 
bush  grew  denser  and  more  difficult  to  pass.  By-and-by  we 
heard  the  peculiar  rumbling  noise  made  by  elephants  feeding 
in  security  and  unalarmed.  We  made  straight  for  it,  till  it 
became  the  clear  "hurr-hurr,"  a  sure  sign  that  the  elephant  is 
very  comfortable  and  quite  unconscious  of  danger. 

As  the  bush  became  so  dense  that  we  could  barely  see 
three  or  four  yards  ahead  of  us,  we  got,  quite  unintentionally, 
right  into  the  very  middle  of  the  herd.  For  we  suddenly  heard 
one  of  the  elephants  rumbling  behind  us,  and  two  others  answer- 
ing to  our  right  and  left.  To  find  one's  self  unexpectedly  sur- 
rounded by  these  dangerous  animals  is  rather  unpleasant ;  but 
having  placed  ourselves  in  the  dilemma,  we  had  to  make  the 
best  of  it. 

Elephant-hunting  is  considered  out  here  a  much  more 
dangerous  sport  than  hunting  lions.  The  elephant  and  the 
buffalo  are  exceedingly  vindictive  and  revengeful,  especially 
if  wounded,  and  they  then  offer  a  more  exciting  sport  to  the 
hunter,  as  they  usually  go  for  their  enemy,  if  they  see  him,  and 
try  to  kill  him.  We  therefore  pushed  forward  with  great  caution 
towards  the  elephant  we  knew  to  be  somewhere  in  front  of  us, 
when  suddenly  my  Soudanese  guide  dropped  on  his  knee  and 
pointed  silently  ahead.  Kneeling  down  by  his  side  and  peering 
into  the  obscurity  of  the  bush,  I  had  just  realised  that  two 
elephants  were  standing  motionless  within  a  few  yards  of  us, 
when  one  of  the  animals  swung  round.  I  rapidly  aimed  half-way 
between  ear  and  eye,  and  gave  him  a  solid  bullet  from  the 
Lee-Speed  rifle.  The  shot  was  instantly  followed  by  the  whole 
herd,  over  fifty  probably,  setting  up  the  most  awe-inspiring 
screaming,  hissing,  snorting,  and  trumpeting  imaginable.  It 


222  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


was  something  really  awful  and  fearful,  and  it  did  shake  our 
nerves. 

The  next  instant  my  men  and  I  were  running  away  like  mad 
for  our  lives,  as  branches,  and  even  trees,  fell  crashing,  torn 
down  by  the  infuriated,  but  to  us  invisible,  animals.  Somehow 
we  escaped  without  encountering  any.  When  we  stopped  to 
recover  our  breath,  our  courage  returned.  We  went  back,  and 
found  that  the  wounded  elephant  must  have  fallen  down  and 
been  trampled  on  by  others,  for  we  picked  up  a  handful  of  the 
long  bristles  which  fringe  the  tip  of  the  tail. 

There  was  very  little  blood,  but  we  followed  it  up  for  per- 
haps a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when,  in  the  obscurity  of  the  bush, 
we  almost  walked  into  the  finest  elephant  I  have  ever  seen. 
His  legs  I  had  taken  for  tree-trunks.  When  they  moved,  I  felt 
a  thrill  like  an  electric  shock  ;  and  the  eye  involuntarily 
travelled  upwards  to  the  huge  body.  It  was  a  splendid  chance 
to  have  hamstrung  this  gigantic  tusker  and  thus  made  abso- 
lutely sure  of  him.  I  did  not  do  it,  but  preferred  the  shot 
at  the  head,  and  thus  lost  tusks  worth  fully  a  couple  of  hundred 
pounds.  As  he  turned  his  head,  the  intervening  branches  and 
leaves  made  the  aim  very  difficult.  The  bullet  hit  him  behind 
the  eye,  and  he  fell  almost  on  top  of  us. 

This  second  shot  was  succeeded  by  such  horrible  screams 
of  rage  and  fury,  that  we  became  again  utterly  demoralised  and 
unnerved.  Once  more  we  stampeded,  and  such  of  the  Wanyoro 
natives  as  had  accompanied  me  never  stopped  running  till  they 
had  reached  our  camp.  The  Soudanese  stuck  to  me.  One 
vicious  brute  chased  us  for  some  distance,  but  was  baffled  by 
the  trees  and  the  shrubs.  As  we  doubled,  he  just  missed  us,  and 
rushed  off  at  right  angles,  crashing  through  the  underwood  like 
a  steam-engine.  I  had  to  throw  myself  on  the  ground,  exhausted 
by  the  overpowering  emotion,  the  rifle  shaking  in  my  trembling 
hands. 

When  sufficiently  recovered,  the  two  or  three  of  us  that 
remained,  once  more  went  in  pursuit.  The  fallen  elephant  had 
not  been  killed  outright,  but  had  got  away.  Patches  of  blood 
about  the  size  of  a  plate  showed  that  he  was  badly  wounded. 
He  had  left  the  herd,  and  had  gone  off  by  himself  out  of  the 
bush  and  towards  the  hills.  The  blood-trail  was  easy  to  follow, 
and  his  head  must  have  been  drooping  towards  the  wounded 
side,  as  the  left-hand  tusk  had  occasionally  scraped  the  ground. 


ELEPHANT-HUNTING 


223 


Just  then  a  heavy  thunder-storm  broke  over  us,  and  the  torrent 
of  rain  soon  obliterated  every  trace  of  the  trail. 

Soaked  to  the  skin,  we  had  to  return  to  the  camp  dis- 
heartened. My  camp-bedstead  and  a  blanket  had  turned  up, 
but  not  a  change  of  dry  clothing.  A  glorious  camp-fire,  in 
spite  of  the  rain,  awaited  us ;  and  we  steamed  ourselves  at  it. 
My  cook  had  brought  a  chicken,  but  no  other  provisions,  and 
he  proceeded  to  roast  it  over  the  fire. 

It  was  getting  dark,  when  five  hippos  were  noticed  in  the 
lake,  some  four  or  five  hundred  yards  higher  up.  Being  wet 
through,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  get  more  wet.  I  there- 
fore went  stalking  through  the  dripping  elephant  -  grass  to 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  hippos.  This  time  I  used  my 
Martini-Henri  rifle.  I  fired  but  one  shot.  The  wounded  hippo- 
potamus reared  himself  half  out  of  the  water  and  then  fell 
heavily  backwards.  The  Soudanese  by  my  side  called  out 
"  Eiva,  kalass,  mut."  I  know  but  a  few  words  of  Arabic,  but 
understood  this  to  mean  "  Yes,  he  is  done  for,  he  is  dead."  For 
all  this,  the  wounded  hippo  escaped  that  day  ;  about  a  fortnight 
later  the  natives  brought  me  the  four  large  tusks.  They  had 
found  the  dying  animal,  and  had  despatched  it  with  their  spears, 
keeping  the  meat  and  hide  for  their  own  use. 

Having  divested  myself  of  my  wet  clothes  and  rolled  myself 
up  in  a  blanket,  I  sought  the  shelter  of  the  grass-hut.  It  was 
not  pleasant  to  be  roused  more  than  once  that  night  by  the 
lugubrious  howling  of  a  hungry  hyaena  close  to  me,  as  I  have 
had  to  attend  to  more  than  one  patient  who  has  been  seized 
in  his  sleep  by  one  of  these  cowardly  brutes.  This  one  need 
only  have  poked  its  nose  through  my  grass  shelter  to  have 
grabbed  me.    Early  next  morning  we  returned  to  Kibero. 

My  second  adventure  with  elephants  was  on  the  west  shore 
of  Lake  Albert,  in  the  Lur  country.  We  were  about  to  re-cross 
the  lake,  when  a  severe  storm  burst  over  us  and  prevented  us. 
I  was  sitting  in  my  tent,  annoyed  at  the  delay,  when  natives 
brought  word  that  a  herd  of  elephants  were  browsing  in  the 
adjoining  forest.  We  tracked  the  animals  through  the  forest  to 
a  grass  plain  just  beyond  it.  They  had  evidently  been  alarmed. 
As  the  wind  was  in  our  favour,  I  got  to  within  sixty  yards ;  but, 
owing  to  the  grass  being  some  ten  feet  high,  I  had  to  climb  a 
tree  to  see  the  animals.  My  head-servant  and  another  man 
climbed  up  after  me,  but  the  others  decamped  to  a  little  knoll 


224  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


farther  off.  The  elephants  at  once  noticed  us,  but,  though 
evidently  on  the  alert  as  to  any  possible  mischief  on  our  part, 
they  showed  no  alarm,  and  probably  took  us  for  monkeys. 

The  tree  was  not  high  enough  nor  strong  enough  to  have 
afforded  us  safety,  and,  standing  by  itself,  it  was  much  too 
isolated  and  exposed.  My  head-servant  predicted  our  death  if, 
conspicuous  as  we  were,  the  fury  of  the  herd  should  be  drawn 
towards  us  ;  he  entreated  me  not  to  fire.  We  quickly  scrambled 
down  the  tree,  and,  under  the  protection  of  the  long  grass, 
retreated  to  the  knoll.  As  we  retreated  in  one  direction,  the 
elephants  moved  off  in  the  opposite  direction,  suspicious  of 
our  presence.  But,  as  flight  of  the  enemy  is  a  wonderful 
factor  in  rousing  courage,  we  became  again  most  courageous, 
and  at  once  followed  in  pursuit. 

This  time  I  got  to  within  what  I  estimated  to  be  eighty 
yards ;  measuring  it  out  afterwards,  it  was  found  to  be  exactly 
102  yards.  From  here  I  took  a  steady  aim  at  the  eye  of  the 
elephant  most  exposed.  I  used  the  Lee-Speed  rifle  and  solid 
bullet,  with  smokeless  powder.  The  elephant  was  hit ;  he 
turned  and  disappeared  among  the  others.  We  had  now  a  very 
interesting  sight.  The  elephants  were  evidently  puzzled  ;  their 
comrade  was  attacked  apparently  from  one  direction,  whereas 
the  sound  of  the  shot  came  from  another.  They  now  formed 
a  sort  of  ring,  most  of  them  facing  us,  but  others  facing  the 
flank  attacked.    I  fired  one  more  shot  and  heard  it  strike. 

Then  we  witnessed  a  splendid  display  of  defiance.  We 
were  safely  hidden  by  the  protecting  screen  of  leaves.  With 
screams  of  rage  and  fear,  the  elephants  facing  us  would  advance 
five  or  ten  yards  in  our  direction  in  line  of  battle,  waving 
their  trunks,  and  then  would  retrace  their  steps  backwards, 
swaying  their  huge  bodies.  A  similar  movement  was  made 
by  others  towards  the  flank  they  imagined  to  have  been  also 
attacked.  Behind  these  advancing  elephants,  three  stood 
sniffing,  with  their  probosces  high  up  in  the  air,  though  the 
mobile  movements  of  the  sensitive,  finger-like  extremity  seemed 
more  like  feeling  the  air.  The  wind,  such  as  there  was,  came 
towards  us.  I  had  urged  the  men  who  were  with  me  not  to 
stir  from  the  spot  as  they  valued  their  lives  ;  fortunately  they 
saw,  that  our  only  safety  lay  in  puzzling  the  elephants  as  to  our 
whereabouts. 

In  the  meanwhile  some  of  the  elephants  clapped  their  huge 


ELEPHANT-HUNTING  225 


ears  backwards,  so  as  to  meet  with  a  thundering  clap  behind 
their  head,  scattering  a  cloud  of  dust.  One  elephant  in  his 
baffled  rage  tore  up  large  lumps  of  grass  and  earth,  and  then 
threw  them  backward  over  his  head  in  a  paroxysm  of  blind 
fury.  Others  moved  about,  trampling  down  the  tall  grass  in 
their  search  for  the  unseen  foe.  Curiously  enough,  whatever 
they  did,  they  yet  managed  to  maintain  a  sort  of  inner  circle, 
and  my  men  assured  me  that  elephants  often  do  so,  when  one 


A  LUCKY  SHOT. 


of  their  number  has  fallen,  only  leaving  the  spot  when  quite 
sure  that  their  companion  is  dead.  We  thereupon  crept  away 
in  the  long  grass  and  gave  the  herd  a  wide  berth. 

By-and-by  a  man  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  and  to  report 
on  the  situation  ;  and  then  we  found,  that  the  herd  had  dis- 
appeared, but  that  one  elephant  lay  dead  on  the  ground.  A 
single  shot  had  killed  the  animal ;  what  had  become  of  the 
second  shot  and  the  second  elephant  wounded  by  me  we  did 
not  find  out.  The  "kill"  took  place  just  half-an-hour's  march 
from  the  camp.  The  illustration  shows  how  the  dead  elephant 
lay,  before  the  natives  proceeded  to  cut  him  up.    I  claimed  the 

P 


226  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


head  and  the  feet,  and  the  natives,  delighted  to  have  such  an 
unusual  big  feast  of  meat,  gladly  brought  my  share  of  the 
spoil  into  camp.  The  tusks  were  disappointing,  but  all  in  this 
herd  had  tusks  of  about  the  same  size. 

My  men  proceeded  to  roast  a  piece  of  the  elephant's  pro- 
boscis for  my  dinner.  Luckily  there  was  something  else  for 
me  to  eat,  as  the  roasting,  done  according  to  native  fashion, 
took  all  night.  A  large  hole  was  dug  in  the  ground,  and  a 
roaring  wood-fire  maintained  in  it  and  over  it,  till  it  resembled 
in  very  deed  a  fiery  furnace.  When  sufficiently  heated,  and 
everything  but  the  red-hot  embers  had  been  removed,  the 
piece  of  trunk  was  thrown,  with  skin  and  bristles,  just  as  it 
was  excepting  a  preliminary  wash,  into  this  oven.  A  few 
faggots  were  now  laid  over  the  mouth  of  the  hole,  and  then 
covered  over  with  green  leaves,  using  the  leaves  of  the  sweet- 
potato  plant ;  finally,  dry  earth  was  placed  over  it  all.  The 
piece  of  meat,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  of  the  proboscis,  remained 
in  this  furnace  all  night,  and  next  morning  it  was  pronounced 
ready  for  use. 

I  had  some  of  it,  when  re-crossing  Lake  Albert  in  a  native 
dug-out.  The  meat  was  delicious,  the  best  bit  I  had  eaten 
for  many  a  long  day.  It  resembled  the  streaky  hump  of 
the  African  bullock,  but  had  a  peculiar,  agreeable  flavour 
of  its  own.  Whether  it  was  the  fault  of  the  second  helping, 
or  my  gastric  powers  resented  this  new  experiment,  after  the 
many  severe  trials  they  have  been  subjected  to  in  Africa, 
whatever  the  cause  may  have  been,  the  elephant  "lay  heavy 
on  my  chest,"  as  ladies  euphoniously  describe  dyspeptic  suffer- 
ing. I  gave  the  elephant-roast  one  more  trial  in  the  evening 
at  my  frugal  dinner,  and  this  settled  the  matter  finally.  I  was 
seized  with  such  an  irresistible  fit  of  generosity,  that  I  gave 
the  meat  away  as  a  present,  and  refused  to  have  anything 
further  to  do  with  it. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  "MAX-EATER." 

LIONS  have  occasionally  been  met  with  and  shot  at  Mom- 
basa, and  I  shot  a  lioness  at  Fajao,  a  thousand  miles 
j  from  the  coast.  Between  these  two  extreme  points  there 
are,  as  might  be  expected,  certain  localities  where  the 
sportsman  anxious  to  bag  a  lion  has  a  better  chance  of  finding 
one.  As  a  general  principle,  lions  follow  the  big  game,  and 
wherever  zebras,  antelopes,  and  gazelles  abound,  lions  are  not 
far  off. 

Some  travellers  never  cross  the  game-stocked  Athi  plains 
without  seeing  lions  ;  the  late  Mr.  Dick  once  saw  fourteen  of 
them,  and  it  is  reported  that  a  score  of  lions  have  been  seen 
together  at  one  and  the  same  time.  I  have  crossed  the  Athi 
plains  six  times  without  seeing  a  live  lion  ;  though  once  I 
picked  up  the  fine  skull  of  an  aged  lion  at  the  Stony  Athi, 
hyaenas  having  just  devoured  the  king  of  beasts.  On  another 
occasion,  when  the  grass  was  about  three  feet  high,  I  was 
stalking  a  waterbuck  near  the  Athi  river,  when  my  gun-bearers 
declared  they  had  seen  a  lion  switching  his  tail  and  disappearing 
into  the  adjoining  copse,  and  they  persuaded  me  to  keep  from 
the  gloomy  thorn  copse  at  a  respectful  distance. 

On  my  fourth  journey,  I  was  warned  by  the  missionaries 
at  Kibwezi  not  to  camp  at  Ngomeni,  because  a  man-eating 
lion  was  haunting  the  neighbourhood.  I  had  at  the  time 
amongst  my  porters  a  man  who  had  camped  at  Ngomeni  a 
few  weeks  before  with  another  caravan.  According  to  his 
story,  he  must  have  had  a  wonderful  escape,  for  the  lion 
pounced  on  him,  and  carried  off  his  blanket  and  the  tiny  tent 
under  which  he  lay  sheltered.  The  porter  however  escaped  un- 
hurt.   From  Kinani  to  Ngomeni  is  twelve  miles,  but  my  caravan 

were  in  such  a  dread  of  spending  the  night  at  Ngomeni,  that 

227 


228  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


they  begged  me  to  push  on  to  the  next  camp  on  the  Tsavo 
river,  nine  miles  farther.  We  therefore  marched  the  twenty- 
one  miles,  crossed  the  Tsavo  river,  and  camped. 

It  was  a  hot  still  night,  and  most  of  the  porters  slept  in 
the  open  air  by  their  camp-fires.  No  one  dreamt  there  could 
be  any  danger ;  we  all  thought,  that  the  man-eating  lion  had 
been  left  nine  miles  behind  us  at  Ngomeni.  I  felt  unaccountably 
restless,  and  kept  tossing  on  my  camp-bed.  I  could  not  sleep. 
I  sauntered  out  of  my  tent,  saw  that  the  night-watchman  was 
awake,  looked  at  the  sleeping  figures  around  the  glowing 
camp-fires,  and  then  strolled  into  the  silent  darkness  beyond 
the  camp.  It  was  providential  that  I  was  not  seized  by  the 
man-eater,  for  he  was  close  at  hand  at  the  very  moment. 
He  had  followed  us  from  Ngomeni,  and  had  swum  across 
the  Tsavo  river.  My  dog  had  followed  me.  He  growled 
angrily  at  some  bush,  so  near  that  I  could  see  some  of  the 
leaves  stirring.  This  was  my  fourth  journey  without  ever 
meeting  with  a  lion,  and  I  was  at  the  moment  so  completely 
unconscious  of  any  danger,  that  I  said  to  my  dog  :  "  You  silly ! 
to  growl  when  the  wind  stirs  a  few  leaves."  Since  this  night 
I  never  like  to  venture  outside  the  circle  of  camp-fires  on  a 
dark  night,  however  safe  others  may  consider  the  surrounding 
uninhabited  country. 

Leisurely  returning  to  my  tent,  I  lay  down  on  my  camp- 
bed,  when  I  heard  a  horrid  growling  sound  like  "woohff" 
a  few  yards  from  my  tent-door.  The  next  moment  there 
were  shrieks  and  cries.  In  a  second  every  man  was  awake, 
and  shouting,  "Simba  !  simba!"  (lion,  lion).  Dashing  out  with 
a  loaded  rifle,  I  found  that  the  man-eater  had  carried  off  one 
of  my  porters.  Every  one  seized  a  firebrand,  and  we  rushed 
in  pursuit.  It  surprises  me  yet,  that  we  rescued  the  man.  About 
two  hundred  yards  from  the  camp  we  found  him  lying  on  the 
ground  severely  lacerated  ;  the  lion  had  dropped  him  and  fled. 
I  carefully  examined  the  spot  next  morning.  A  strong  but 
withered  branch  stretched  out  horizontally  a  sharp-pointed 
arm  ;  for  some  inches  from  the  end,  this  was  covered  with  the 
lion's  short  hairs.  My  belief  is,  that  the  lion,  bounding  away 
with  his  prey,  accidentally  struck  his  side  against  this  sharp 
branch.  He  may  have  taken  it  for  a  spear-thrust  from  one 
of  us  pursuing  him  with  shouts  and  blazing  brands. 

The  wounded  man  was  carried  to  my  tent.    He  had  dreadful 


THE  "MAN-EATER" 


229 


wounds  in  the  upper  part  of  the  thigh,  where  the  lion's  jaws 
had  seized  him.  As  I  had  every  surgical  requisite  at  hand, 
he  was  soon  bandaged  up,  and  he  remained  that  night  under 
my  tent.  No  one  ventured  to  go  to  sleep,  as  we  fully  expected 
the  baffled  man-eater  would  make  another  attempt  before  dawn. 
The  injured  man  was  in  great  pain,  and  his  moans  were  dis- 
tressing. He  told  us  a  remarkable  story — that,  though  the  lion 
had  seized  him  and  was  carrying  him  off,  he  was  still  asleep  ; 
that  our  shouts  woke  him  up,  and  to  his  horror  he  found  that 
he  himself  was  the  one  being  carried  off  by  the  lion,  and  then 
he  clasped  his  arms  round  the  lion's  neck  and  screamed. 

We  were  all  wondering,  why  the  lion  did  not  pay  us 
another  visit ;  but  it  was  explained  next  morning.  A  number  of 
Wakamba  natives  on  their  way  to  Mombasa  to  barter  their 
sheep  and  goats  for  cloth,  beads,  and  brass-wire,  had  passed 
us.  They  camped  for  the  night  about  half-an-hour  farther  on. 
The  man-eater  had  visited  them  instead,  and  had  carried  off  a 
native  and  devoured  him.  The  others  had  fled.  The  road  next 
day  bore  plain  evidence  of  their  headlong  flight,  being  littered 
with  beans,  broken  provision  bags,  and  some  leather  garments. 

With  early  dawn  we  left  Tsavo  ;  the  injured  porter  we 
carried  in  a  hammock.  We  saw  the  footprints  of  the  lion 
along  the  dusty  road  apparently  following  the  Wakamba.  Two 
of  my  men  declared  that  they  saw  the  brute  about  mid-day, 
standing  panting  under  a  shady  bush  by  the  roadside,  with 
the  tongue  hanging  out  of  its  mouth.  I  hurried  up  to  them 
with  a  loaded  rifle,  but  saw  nothing  except  the  footprints,  which 
here  did  turn  off  the  road.  We  made  a  double  march,  and 
reached  the  camp  at  Xdi  in  safety,  and  saw  nothing  further 
of  the  lion  for  the  rest  of  the  journey.  The  wounded  man 
progressed  favourably,  and  on  our  reaching  Mombasa,  he  in- 
sisted on  walking  in  the  procession,  supporting  himself  with  a 
stick.  He  refused  to  be  carried  or  to  be  assisted  by  others. 
The  safe  home-coming  of  a  caravan  to  Mombasa  is  generally 
a  day  of  rejoicing  with  the  porters. 

On  my  fifth  journey — it  was  at  Lake  Xakuru — I  had  my  first 
shot  at  a  lion.  I  was  returning  to  camp,  and  within  sight  of  it, 
when  I  observed  a  jackal  slinking  round  the  base  of  a  hillock. 
Intending  to  get  a  shot  at  him,  I  hurried  up  the  hillock.  As  1 
reached  the  top,  I  heard  shouts  of  u  Simba  !  simba  ! "  (lion, 
lion).    I  naturally  turned  round  to  see  who  were  shouting,  and 


23° 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


then  I  heard  some  of  my  men  call  out,  that  the  lions  were  in 
front  of  me.  In  fact,  at  the  critical  moment,  when  I  would  have 
seen  them,  I  had  turned  round.  A  lion  and  a  lioness,  peacefully 
reposing  in  the  grass,  had  been  disturbed  by  my  approach,  and 
were  now  trotting  off  towards  some  high  grass  a  few  hundred 
yards  away.  I  had  barely  time  to  fire  three  shots  from  the 
magazine  rifle  at  their  receding  figures.  The  first  two  shots  fell 
short,  but  my  third  shot,  put  at  300  yards,  threw  up  the  dust 
close  to  the  left  hind-leg  of  the  lion.  The  shots  did  not  ap- 
parently disturb  their  equanimity.  After  my  third  shot  they 
stopped  for  a  second  to  look  at  us.  Before  I  could  try  a  fourth 
shot,  the  pair  had  disappeared  in  the  long  grass,  where  it  would 
have  been  foolhardy  to  follow  them.  The  donkey-boy  told  me, 
that  when  he  was  bringing  my  riding-donkey  to  meet  me,  the 
donkey  suddenly  broke  loose  and  galloped  back  to  the  camp. 
He  had  to  return  to  fetch  it,  and  leading  it  once  more  along,  he 
and  the  others  saw  the  lions  which  had  terrified  the  donkey. 
That  night  we  heard  lions  growling  round  the  camp,  but  no  one 
was  attacked. 

On  my  second  visit  to  Fajao,  our  farthest  military  station 
towards  the  north,  another  lion  incident  fell  to  my  lot.  It  was 
on  the  25th  November  1897.  I  had  arrived  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, and  having  attended  to  my  medical  duties,  went  in  the 
afternoon  unarmed  for  a  walk  to  a  narrow  rocky  gully  which 
winds  through  the  wood.  Suddenly  I  observed  the  fresh  foot- 
prints of  a  lion  in  the  moist  sandy  patches  between  the  rocks. 
The  footprints  of  a  young  one  by  its  side  showed  it  must  be 
a  lioness  with  her  cub.  The  tracks  were  so  fresh,  that  it  was 
evident  the  beasts  had  been  disturbed  by  my  approach,  and 
had  just  passed  ahead.  I  had  never  heard  of  any  lions  being 
in  this  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  it  was  not  pleasant  to 
find  myself  unarmed  and  in  such  proximity  to  them.  I  retraced 
my  steps  pretty  sharp,  and  beat  a  hurried  retreat,  thanking 
Providence  for  bringing  me  safely  back  to  the  station.  I  told 
the  men  what  I  had  seen,  and  I  inquired  if  they  knew,  that 
there  were  lions  so  near  to  us.  I  received  the  disturbing  news, 
that  a  man-eating  lion  had  harassed  the  neighbouring  Wanyoro 
village  for  the  past  month,  and  that  it  had  carried  off  four 
of  the  villagers.  The  inhabitants  had  deserted  their  homes  en 
masse,  and  had  fled  for  safety  to  another  village  ;  but  hitherto 
the  man-eater  had  not  visited  the  Soudanese  settlement. 


THE  "  MAN-EATER  " 


231 


Darkness  sets  in  about  6  P.M. ;  and  though  I  ventured  by 
myself  only  sixty  yards  from  my  hut,  I  found  next  morning, 
that  for  the  second  time  I  must  have  been  pretty  close  to  the 
man-eater,  as  his  track  was  but  six  inches  from  mine.  I  real- 
ised, how  the  merciful  God  had  twice  that  day  preserved  me 
from  death.  Soon  afterwards,  news  was  brought  me,  that  the 
man-eater  had  just  attempted  to  carry  off  a  woman  at  the  nearest 
Wanyoro  village,  but  was  driven  off,  presumably  with  firebrands, 
by  men  who  happened  to  sit  near  her.  This  alarming  news  was 
shortly  followed  by  my  cow  stampeding.  She  was  tied  to  a  peg, 
close  to  the  Soudanese  watch-fire.  Tearing  herself  loose,  she 
bolted  like  mad.  She  never  stopped  until  she  reached  a  distant 
village,  whence  she  was  returned  to  me  next  day.  The  Soudanese 
on  guard  declared  that  he  saw  the  lion  crouching  and  trying  to 
spring  upon  the  cow,  when,  fortunately,  she  just  tore  herself 
loose  in  time  and  escaped.  It  was  too  dark  for  him  to  aim,  or 
he  would  have  fired  his  rifle. 

The  general  excitement  was  increasing,  when  suddenly 
terrific  screams  of  pain  arose  from  the  Soudanese  village,  fol- 
lowed by  soldiers  firing  off  their  rifles  in  every  direction,  under 
the  belief  that  they  had  seen  the  man-eater  here,  there,  and  every- 
where. The  brute  certainly  seemed  ubiquitous.  I  felt  uncom- 
fortable at  the  thought  that  the  bullets  might  knock  some  of  us 
over,  but,  with  the  help  of  the  native  officers,  we  put  a  stop 
to  this  haphazard  shooting,  which  was  endangering  our  lives 
more  than  the  man-eater's.  On  hurrying  to  the  scene  of  the 
screams,  I  found  that  the  man-eater  had  entered  a  hut,  the 
door  having  foolishly  been  left  open,  and  had  tried  to  carry 
off  one  of  our  Soudanese  soldiers.  The  huts  are  crowded  to- 
gether, and  have  a  reed-fence  round  each,  and  narrow  paths 
and  winding  entrances  lead  to  each  separate  enclosure.  It 
was  therefore  no  easy  matter,  even  for  a  lion,  to  carry  off  its 
prey.  Owing  to  the  general  hubbub  the  lion  had  dropped  the 
man.  As  in  the  Tsavo  case,  I  was  fortunately  at  hand  to  dress 
the  wounds.  There  were  ten  of  them.  A  scratch,  about  two 
inches  long,  had  splintered  the  heel-bone.  I  removed  a  piece  of 
bone  about  the  size  of  a  shilling.  This  was  one  of  the  minor 
wounds,  the  worst  were  in  the  thigh.  The  man  ultimately  made 
a  good  recovery,  and  so  did  the  woman  who  was  injured  earlier. 

To  allay  the  excitement  and  to  calm  the  people,  I  told  them 
/  would  kill  the  lion  next  day.    The  natives  were  not  surprised 


232  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

that  this  came  true,  for  they  are  very  superstitious,  and  with 
them  "  medicine-man "  and  wizard  are  synonymous  terms. 
The  native  lieutenant  reminded  me  of  this  fact.  "  You  told 
us,"  he  said,  "  that  you  would  kill  the  lion  next  day,  but  then— 
you  are  a  1  medicine-man.'  " 

I  advised  the  men  to  retire  to  their  huts,  and  to  see  that 
their  doors  were  firmly  secured.  As  regards  my  own  hut, 
this  was  easier  said  than  done,  as  the  door  was  only  a  reed- 
screen  leaning  against  the  aperture,  which  it  failed  to  close. 
But  natives  usually  take  the  precaution  of  fixing  two  vertical 
poles  inside  the  hut,  so  that  the  reed-screen  slides  between 
them,  and  is  retained  in  position ;  the  door  is  then  firmly 
closed  by  some  faggots  placed  transversely.  Having  dis- 
persed the  crowd,  I  determined  to  put  out  a  bait  for  the  man- 
eater,  and  to  sit  up  and  watch  for  him. 

We  tied  a  young  goat  to  a  tree  a  few  feet  from  my  door.  The 

night  was  very 
dark,  and  I 
was  obliged  to 
kindle  a  fire  to 
enable  me  to 
see  the  fore- 
sight of  my 
rifle.  Then 
the  silent  and 
dreary  watch 
began.  As  the 
hours  crept 
on,  the  stillness 
and  the  dark- 
ness told  on 
me.    I  had  had 

a  fatiguing  day.  In  the  early  morning  I  had  marched  from 
Wakibara  to  Fajao,  afterwards  I  had  attended  to  patients,  and 
then  came  the  lively  doings  of  the  evening.  By-and-by  I 
caught  myself  nodding.  If  the  man-eater  had  chosen  to  pass 
my  hut  once  more,  it  could  have  had  me,  notwithstanding  the 
loaded  rifle  on  my  knees.  At  3.30  a.m.  I  gave  up  the  struggle  to 
keep  awake,  and,  resolving  to  set  a  trap  for  the  lion,  I  went  to  bed. 

At  8  A.M.  next  morning  I  began  to  build  the  lion-trap. 
Everybody   helped   willingly,   although    it   was   Friday,  the 


THE  "  MAN-EATER  " 


233 


Sunday  equivalent  to  the  Soudanese  who  are  Mohammedans 
and  who  have  consequently  had  this  day  conceded  to  them  as 
their  day  of  rest.  First  of  all  we  made  a  firm  stockade  of  stout 
perpendicular  poles  ;  to  these  we  lashed  tree-stems  laid  hori- 
zontally one  on  top  of  the  other ;  finally  we  planted  an  outer 
row  of  poles,  perpendicular  like  the  first  row,  firmly  and  deeply 
into  the  ground.  This  gave  us  the  sides  of  the  cage.  The  top  we 
closed  in  with  horizontally  laid  tree-trunks,  on  to  which  we  piled 
large  heavy  stones,  till  we  felt  satisfied  that  the  fiercest  lion  could 
not  possibly  break  out  of  this  cage.  The  trap-door  consisted  of 
seven  heavy  blocks  of  wood  fastened  together  horizontally  on 
top  of  each  other,  and  held  in  position  by  short  perpendicular 
pieces  on  both  sides.  So  far  all  went  smoothly.  But  never 
having  constructed  a  wild-beast  trap  before,  I  was  seriously 
puzzled,  how  to  make  the  trap-door  act. 

There  is  something  in  this  Robinson  Crusoe  life  which 
stimulates  the  most  uninventive  intellect.  It  was  an  unplea- 
sant predicament  that,  unless  I  found  some  means,  the  cage 
would  very  shortly 
be  ready,  and  I 
placed  in  the  ridi- 
culous position  of 
not  knowing,  how 
to  make  the  trap 
work.  Inspiration 
came  at  last.  I 
had  asked  the 
native  officers,  the 
Soudanese  soldiers, 
the  Swahili  porters, 
my  Arab  servant, 
and  the  Wanyoro 
nlookers,  to  find 
out,  if  any  one 
could  help  me.  They  THE  LION-TRAP  completed. 

calmly  assured  me, 

that  they  had  never  built  a  trap  ;  in  vain  I  told  them — nor 
had  I.  But  I  hit  on  the  following  plan.  I  constructed  a 
sort  of  picture-frame,  the  trap-door  resting  in  the  forked  ends 
of  the  two  perpendicular  pieces.  Attaching  a  rope  to  the 
middle  of  the  lower  horizontal  stick,  even  a  slight  tug  with- 


234  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

drew  the  supporting  framework,  and  caused  the  heavy  trap- 
door to  fall  down  into  the  required  position,  and  thereby  to 
shut  the  cage  most  effectively.  The  rope  went  to  the  farthest 
end  of  the  cage,  and  there,  passing  over  a  horizontal  pole  and 
returning  in  the  direction  of  the  door,  had  its  end  securely  tied 
to  a  goat  placed  as  a  bait  inside  the  trap. 

The  goat  had  previously  had  its  legs  tied,  so  as  to  render  it 
quite  helpless.  Of  course  the  principle  I  went  upon,  was,  that 
the  lion  would  not  stop  to  devour  its  prey,  but  would  seize  it 
and  try  to  carry  it  off,  and  therefore  would  pull  at  the  rope  to 
which  the  goat  was  tied,  and  thus  close  the  trap-door.  As  the 
lion  had  refused  to  accept  the  goat  we  had  placed  for  it  as  a 
bait  out  in  the  open  air  on  the  previous  night,  we  built  a  native 
hut  over  the  trap,  and  the  lion-trap  was  completed.  Just  before 
dark  we  baited  the  trap,  and  awaited  the  result.  Everybody  in 
the  village  was  warned  to  be  inside  his  own  hut  before  dusk, 
and  to  see  that  his  door  was  securely  fastened.  Though  a  tiger 
man-eater,  having  once  tasted  human  flesh,  is  said  ever  after  to 
prefer  it  to  all  other  flesh,  I  do  not  know  if  the  lion  man-eater 
resembles  it  in  this  predilection  ;  but  it  would  seem  it  does,  for 
this  particular  lion  refused  to  take  the  goat  twice  offered  him 
as  a  bait  on  two  successive  nights. 

The  Soudanese  lieutenant,  Said  Jabara,  was  eating  his  even- 
ing meal  at  the  door  of  his  hut,  when  the  man-eater  suddenly 
entered  his  enclosure  and  bounded  into  the  adjoining  hut. 
With  great  presence  of  mind,  the  lieutenant  at  once  flung  burn- 
ing brands  in  front  of  this  hut,  and  thus  promptly  made  a 
prisoner  of  the  man-eater. 

Soon  a  blazing  fire  was  roaring,  fed  by  many  willing  hands. 
Luckily  the  occupant  of  the  hut  was  absent.  When  I  arrived  on 
the  scene  and  heard  how  matters  stood,  I  climbed  on  to  the 
anterior  shed,  followed  by  my  Arab  servant  with  my  rifle  and  a 
lantern.  The  Soudanese  lieutenant  also  joined  me.  The  lion 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  inner  hut.  Cautiously  the  Soudanese 
officer  removed  some  of  the  thatch.  I  pushed  the  rifle  through 
the  opening  and  peered  into  the  dark  interior  of  the  hut,  whilst 
my  Arab  endeavoured  to  throw  the  light  of  the  lantern  into 
it.  It  was  very  doubtful  whether  the  weak  framework  of  the 
roof  would  bear  our  united  weight  much  longer ;  there  were 
ominous  crackings,  and  we  were  in  danger  of  being  precipitated 
into  the  hut  right  in  front  of  the  man-eater.    There  was  also  the 


THE  "MAN-EATER" 


235 


possibility,  that  the  lion,  in  endeavouring  to  escape  by  this  new 
opening,  might  spring  at  us.  We  had  some  trouble  too  in  push- 
ing aside,  with  sticks,  a  mosquito-curtain  intercepting  our  view 
of  the  interior. 

It  seemed  a  long  while,  though  probably  only  a  minute  or 
two,  before  I  succeeded  in  distinguishing  the  outline  of  the 
lion.  I  fired,  but  as  I  could  not  see  very  clearly  the  fore- 
sight of  my  rifle,  I  probably  missed.  The  lion  gave  an  ominous 
growl  which  was  heard  and  received  with  mad  shouts  by  the 
crowd  surging  around  us  at  a  safe  distance.  The  brute  bounded 
to  the  other  end  of  the  hut,  but,  as  it  left  the  hind  part  of  its 
body  exposed,  I  was  able  this  time  to  take  a  better  aim  and  to 
send  the  bullet  crushing  through  its  body.  As  it  turned  to  escape 
by  the  door,  I  had  time  to  re-load— I  was  using  a  Martini-Henri 
rifle — and  to  give  it  a  good  shoulder-shot.  It  staggered,  and  fell 
dead  in  the  outer  shed. 

The  men  guarding  the  entrance,  of  course,  did  not  know 
that  it  was  all  over  with  the  man-eater,  and  they  fired  off 
their  rifles.  There  was  not  much  aiming,  for  one  of  these 
bad  shots  passed  close  to  the  Soudanese  lieutenant  and  me. 
We  slid  off  the  roof,  and  got  the  men  to  stop  the  firing. 

The  man-eater  turned  out  to  be  a  lioness.  It  was  gaunt 
and  grim,  old  and  emaciated.  It  had  but  five  other  wounds, 
in  spite  of  the  subsequent  fusillade,  besides  the  two  inflicted 
by  me ;  one  of  these  five  shots  had  carried  off  the  little  toe 
of  the  right  fore-foot,  the  others  were  principally  flesh-wounds. 
It  required  seven  men  to  carry  the  lioness  to  where  I  camped. 
There  was  a  feeling  of  joy  and  relief  that  the  man-eater  was 
slain.  I  had  to  remain  close  to  the  body  to  prevent  its  being 
torn  to  pieces  by  the  frenzied  mob.  Even  then  one  of  the 
Wanyamwezi  porters  managed  to  dodge  me  and  to  deliver  with 
a  club  a  terrific  blow  at  the  dead  lioness,  smashing  in  her  skull. 
The  women  joined  in  the  uproar  with  their  shrill  tremulo-scream 
of  "  he-he-he-he-he  "  ad  infinitum,  only  stopping  when  quite  out 
of  breath.    This  was  meant  as  a  sort  of  triumphal  chant. 

It  was  a  strange  scene :  a  pitch-dark  night  in  the  heart  of 
Africa,  scores  of  blazing  torches  lighting  up  the  gloom  of  the 
tall  forest  trees  around  us,  a  surging  crowd  of  black  faces,  half- 
naked  women  uttering  their  shrill  cry,  in  the  distance  the  incessant 
boom  of  the  Victoria  Nile  where  it  foams  down  the  Murchison 
Falls,  the  white  race  represented  by  one  solitary  being  in  this 


236 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  most  distant  and  remote  outpost  of  civilisation  and  British 
authority,  and  the  dead  lioness  !  From  tip  of  nose  to  tip  of  tail 
the  lioness  measured  seven  feet  six  inches,  but  the  skin  when 
stretched  out  to  dry  measured  nine  feet  four  inches.  With 
man-eating  tigers  in  India  the  skin  is  said  to  be  mangy,  but 
this  skin  was  in  beautiful  condition. 

I  had  left  my  hut  at  7.30  p.m.  and  at  7.45  p.m.  I  was  back 
with  the  dead  man-eater,  and  yet  so  much  was  crowded  into 
this  quarter  of  an  hour.    It  took  a  long  time,  before  everybody 


THE  LIONESS  AT  FAJAO. 


quieted  down  and  went  off  to  sleep.  The  goat  was  released 
from  its  unenviable  position  of  serving  as  live  bait  for  a 
lion,  and  then  I  too  thought  it  high  time  to  prepare  for  rest. 
Just  then  terrific  screams  from  the  Soudanese  village  once  more 
caused  me  to  hurry  with  loaded  rifle  to  the  rescue.  Guided  by 
the  shrieks,  we — the  native  lieutenant  and  others  having  joined 
me  promptly  on  the  way — reached  a  hut  with  the  door  fast  closed. 
We  burst  the  door  open  and  rushed  in.  The  torches  lit  up  the 
interior,  and  showed  us  two  women  clinging  to  each  other.  One 
of  them  had  had  the  nightmare,  and  had  dreamt  the  dead  lioness 
had  come  to  life  again  and  had  entered  her  hut.    Her  shrieks 


THE  "  MAN-EATER" 


237 


had  caused  the  other  woman  to  scream  in  terror-stricken  sym- 
pathy. This  comical  incident  closed  the  evening.  We  calmed 
and  reassured  the  women,  and  then  returned  to  our  respective 
huts. 

On  my  sixth  journey — we  had  pitched  our  tents  at  "Campi- 
ya-Simba,"  i.e.  "the  camp  of  lions" — we  saw  four  animals  in 
the  distance,  a  mile  or  two  off.  No  one  could  make  out  what 
they  were.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  they  must  be  wart-hogs, 
because  the  body  seemed  unusually  long  and  the  legs  compara- 
tively short.  As  far  as  the  hills  the  treeless  ground  was  covered 
with  short  grass,  only  here  and  there  a  patch  of  grass  three  feet 
high  would  dot  the  undulating  surface.  Accompanied  by  my 
gun-bearer,  I  tried  to  get  as  near  as  I  could  before  attempting  a 
shot.  The  place  was  too  open  to  make  stalking  possible  or 
practicable.  Three  of  the  animals  trotted  off  to  the  left,  one 
went  off  to  the  right  in  the  direction  of  our  camp.  This  one  I 
followed.  I  felt  more  than  ever  convinced  it  was  a  wild  boar,  as 
it  constantly  placed  its  head  near  the  ground  and  only  occasion- 
ally raised  it  to  look  at  us  as  we  followed  it.  Our  persistent 
pursuit  seemed  to  annoy  it,  and  it  went  to  hide  in  a  patch  of 
high  grass. 

With  my  rifle  ready,  I  cautiously  approached  the  patch, 
but  as  I  could  not  make  out  where  the  animal  might  be,  I 
said  to  my  gun-bearer  :  "  I  have  lost  it."  The  patch  of  grass 
extended  perhaps  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Suddenly  a  long  tail 
switched  upward,  and  instantly  a  huge  lion  raised  himself  up 
and  gave  a  fierce  deep  growl.  Up  went  my  rifle  and  I  fired. 
The  lion  was  fully  two  hundred  yards  off ;  the  bullet  almost 
grazed  its  head.  The  act  was  automatic  ;  the  shock  of  unex- 
pectedly facing  a  lion  must  have  paralysed  volition,  or  I  would 
most  certainly  not  have  risked  at  that  distance  my  only  shot,  on 
which  the  life  of  the  two  of  us  might  have  depended. 

This  brings  to  my  mind  a  passage  in  a  medical  lecture  I 
once  attended.  The  lecturer,  to  impress  the  medical  students 
with  the  proximity  of  certain  nerve-centres  in  the  brain,  used 
"  Eve  and  the  apple "  as  an  illustration.  "  This  is  the  centre 
for  sight,"  he  said, — "  Eve  saw  the  apple  " — "  and  this  is  the 
centre  for  movement  of  the  arms — Eve  stretched  out  her  hand 
for  it."  In  my  case  the  sight  of  the  lion  prompted  the  de- 
fensive motion  of  my  arms.  Fortunately  for  me,  the  lion 
turned  and  bounded  off.     I  reloaded  my  rifle,  and  hurried 


238  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

after  it,  eager  to  shoot  it,  and  to  secure  such  a  splendid  brute. 
But  though  it  seemed  to  be  merely  trotting,  and  my  gun- 
bearer  and  I  were  running,  as  if  it  were  a  racing  match,  the  lion 
got  steadily  farther  away  and  finally  disappeared  beyond  the 
undulating  ridges.  When  we  reached  camp,  I  was  greeted  by 
my  companion  with  the  remark,  that  a  lion  had  passed  in 
sight  of  the  camp  and  had  disappeared  in  the  scrub  near  us  ; 
that  he  had  gone  to  look  for  it,  but  had  seen  no  trace  of  it. 

The  whole  caravan  were  greatly  excited,  saying  the  lion 
was  crouching  in  the  long  grass,  and  would  wait  till  dusk,  and 
then  pay  us  an  unpleasant  visit.  Having  rested  myself,  I  went 
once  more  after  the  lion  ;  but  I  followed  a  different  plan  to 
what  my  companion  had  tried.  As  the  lion  had  crossed  the 
caravan  road,  I  went  to  track  him,  instead  of  looking  for  him 
at  haphazard.  I  found  the  footprints,  and  several  of  my  men 
now  systematically  tracked  them  for  me.  The  trail  led  down- 
wards to  a  grassy  dell.  Just  then  a  couple  of  partridges  flew 
up  and  settled  in  a  patch  of  grass  on  the  higher  ground.  I 
exchanged  my  rifle  for  a  gun,  and  thought  I  might  as  well 
bag  a  partridge  for  supper,  whilst  my  men  went  tracking  to- 
wards the  dell.  The  boy  who  had  carried  the  gun  accom- 
panied me,  though  the  gun  was  now  in  my  own  hands. 

As  I  skirted  the  edge  of  the  grass-patch,  I  noticed  a  peculiar 
opening  at  one  spot,  as  if  a  longish  animal  had  entered  there. 
I  said  to  my  boy  :  "  I  am  sure  the  lion  has  passed  here,"  but 
I  never  dreamt  the  lion  my  men  were  tracking  down-hill  could 
at  that  moment  be  so  near  to  me  near  the  summit  of  the 
hill.  I  had  passed  the  spot  half-a-dozen  yards,  when  curiosity 
prompted  me  to  go  back  and  to  have  another  look  at  it.  Balan- 
cing myself  on  my  left  foot,  with  my  fowling-piece  held  uncon- 
cernedly in  my  hands,  I  was  leisurely  turning  the  grass  this  way 
and  that  way  with  my  right  foot,  when  the  same  huge  lion, 
just  as  it  did  on  the  former  occasion,  except  that  it  was  now 
only  a  few  yards  from  me,  sprang  up,  lashed  its  tail  furiously, 
and  growled  or  rather  snarled  at  me.  My  boy  was  paralysed 
with  fear.  I  could  see  how  both  his  hands  went  up  and  his 
ringers  curled  inwards,  and  then  he  gave  a  yell  of  terror.  As 
on  the  previous  occasion,  the  sudden  shock  deprived  me  of  the 
sensation  of  fear,  but  automatically  my  hands  endeavoured  to 
shoot  back  the  safety-bolt  of  my  gun  and  to  get  it  ready  for 
defence. 


THE  "  MAN-EATER  " 


239 


Before  I  could  act,  the  lion  had  ample  time  to  have  killed 
both  of  us  ;  but  once  more  it  turned  and  fled.  As  the  black 
tip  of  the  tail  disappeared  over  the  next  undulation,  I  got  at  last 
my  gun  in  position  and  sent  some  small  No.  5  shot  at  it,  though 
I  might  as  well  have  tickled  the  tip  of  the  tail  with  a  feather- 
brush,  as  regards  any  harm  I  could  have  done  with  such  tiny 
shot  at  that  distance.  But  I  was  mad  with  myself  at  having 
lost  such  a  splendid  chance  ;  only  gradually  better  thoughts 
entered  my  head,  and  I  felt  thankful,  that  twice  this  day  Provi- 
dence had  saved  me,  in  spite  of  my  folly,  from  painful  mutilation 
and  probable  death. 

My  men,  who  were  tracking  down-hill,  now  hurried  up  to 
me,  and  we  followed  the  fresh  spoor  of  the  lion  for  over  an 
hour,  but  we  never  saw  the  brute  again.  We  had  at  last  to 
give  up  the  pursuit  and  to  return  to  the  camp  ;  but  my  caravan 
slept  in  peace  that  night,  for  the  lion  never  ventured  to  come 
back  to  us. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING. 

THE  rhinoceros  met  with  in  Uganda  and  British  East 
Africa  is  the  common  black  "rhinoceros  bicornis," 
i.e.  "the  two-horned  rhino."  I  have  heard  of  "freaks" 
with  three  and  even  five  horns,  but  I  have  never  seen 
one  of  them.  The  Indian  rhino  has  only  one  horn  ;  it  also 
differs  in  having  huge  massive  folds  of  skin,  which  make  it  look 
as  if  clad  in  a  coat-of-mail,  like  a  battle-horse  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  these  folds,  the  skin  of 
the  African  rhino  is  more  than  an  inch  thick  along  the  back  and 
sides  ;  and  over  the  abdomen,  where  it  is  comparatively  thin,  it 
is  fully  half  an  inch.  An  extinct  two-horned  species  of  rhino, 
discovered  in  the  ice-fields  of  Siberia  along  with  the  extinct 
mammoth,  had  a  shaggy  coat  of  long  wool ;  but  the  present 
African  representatives  of  these  antediluvian  rhinos  and  ele- 
phants have  practically  a  naked  skin,  with  the  exception  of  the 
tip  of  the  tail,  which  is  fringed  with  long  bristles. 

The  Indian  rhino  is  said  to  live  in  marshy  jungles  and  to  be 
fond  of  wallowing  in  the  mud  ;  but  where  I  have  encountered  most 
frequently  the  African  rhino,  has  been  on  treeless  grassy  plains, 
though  sometimes  I  have  met  with  it  in  bush-covered  tracts. 

Whereas  hippos  and  elephants  love  to  congregate  together 
in  herds,  the  rhinos  prefer  roaming  singly  or  in  pairs.  Once 
only  did  I  see  three  rhinos  together ;  it  was  quite  a  model 
family,  consisting  of  father,  mother,  and  child.  But  generally 
the  bull  goes  off  by  himself  on  his  lonely  travels,  and  leaves  the 
cow  to  look  after  her  calf.  The  cow  has  never  more  than  one 
calf  at  a  time.  She  takes  care  of  her  calf  till  it  is  almost  full- 
grown.  The  cow  has  the  domestic  element  largely  developed, 
for  I  have  always  met  her  accompanied  either  by  her  young 
calf  or  by  an  adult  bull. 


RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING  241 


The  upper  lip  of  the  rhino  overlaps  the  lower,  and  is  pointed 
and  prehensile.  I  watched  a  rhino  browsing  on  the  leaves  of 
shrubs  and  bushes ;  it  plucked  off  the  single  leaves  as  deftly  as 
any  experienced  tea-gatherer  stripping  a  tea-shrub  of  its  leaves. 
It  has  very  small  eyes  and  a  short  range  of  vision  ;  it  does  not 
seem  to  be  able  to  distinguish  a  human  being  at  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  even  when  on  a  perfectly  open  plain. 

Rhinos  are  greatly  troubled  by  small  crab-like  ticks ;  these 
small  red-brown  parasites  cluster  under  the  tail,  along  the 
abdomen  and  thighs,  and  around  the  base  of  the  eye-lashes. 
Though  sight  may  be  somewhat  defective,  hearing  is  fairly 
acute,  and  scent  is  extremely  keen.  I  had  occasion  to  notice 
this  at  Campi-ya-Simba.  Only  my  gun-bearer,  as  we  call  the 
servant  who  carries  one's  gun  or  rifle,  was  with  me,  and  I  had 
but  a  single  solid  Lee-Metford  bullet  left,  when  we  noticed  a 
pair  of  rhinos,  evidently  a  cow  with  her  calf,  on  the  open  plain 
about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  us.  The  calf  was  lying  down, 
and  the  cow  stood  by  it  motion- 
less with  drooping  head. 

We  had  to  pass  them,  as 
they  were  directly  in  our  path  ; 
but  we  were  not  anxious  to  risk 
an  encounter,  having  but  one 
single  solid  bullet  for  our  pro- 
tection. We  decided  to  give 
them  a  wide  birth,  and  to 
outflank  them  at  the  same 
respectful  distance  of  over  a 
mile.  As  long  as  the  wind  was 
in  our  favour,  the  rhinos  did 
not  stir ;  but  as  we  were 
bound  to  pass  to  windward 
of  them,  we  kept  a  wary  eye 
on  their  movements.  Though 
there    was    but    the  faintest 

breath  of  wind,  the  very  instant  almost  that  we  got  to  windward 
of  them,  the  cow  started  and  turned  round  and  the  young 
one  jumped  up.  Both  rhinos  appeared  greatly  alarmed ;  and 
we  could  see  that  we  were  the  cause,  although  invisible  to  them. 

The  rhinos  I  have  shot,  amongst  them  two  fine  old  bulls,  were 
all  smaller  than  my  hippos.    The  rhino  has  three  toes,  the  hippo 

Q 


A  RHINO  HEAD. 


242  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


four,  and  the  elephant  five.  The  foot  of  the  elephant  is  the 
largest  in  size,  the  rhino  foot  comes  next.  The  hippo  has  a 
comparatively  small  foot  for  so  huge  a  body  ;  this  difference 
in  size  is  explained  by  the  fact,  that  the  hippo  spends  the 
greater  part  of  its  existence  in  the  water  swimming.  The 
horns  of  the  rhinoceros  are  part  and  parcel  of  the  skin,  and 
merely  a  modification  of  it,  like  a  nail.  It  follows  that  the 
horns  can  be  stripped  off  the  skull  without  injuring  any  bone. 
The  anterior  horn  is  usually  longer  than  the  posterior  horn, 
but  sometimes,  as  seen  in  the  illustration  of  a  rhino-head, 
the  reverse  is  the  case.  The  posterior  horn  rests  between  the 
eyes  on  the  frontal  bone,  but  the  anterior  horn  is  supported 
on  the  nose,  the  nasal  bones  being  raised  and  strengthened 
to  form  a  hard  bony  bump. 

The  horns  are  solid ;  the  anterior  curves  backward,  the 
posterior  is  straight  and  pyramidal.  The  anterior  horn  of 
the  female  is  usually  more  elegant  than  the  corresponding 
horn  of  the  male,  which  is  evidently  a  very  terrible  weapon 
for  fighting  with,  being  short,  stumpy,  sharply-pointed  and 
very  massive.  The  longest  horn  in  my  possession  came  from 
my  first  rhino,  a  female  ;  it  measures  25  inches  along  the 
outer  curve  from  tip  to  base. 

The  rhino  skull  has  a  curious  appearance,  owing  to  the 
large  nasal  lump,  and  to  the  cranium  curving  upwards  like 
a  Pecksniffian  tuft  and  terminating  in  a  long  horizontal  ridge. 
The  rhino  has  no  front  teeth.  In  the  specimen  I  sent  home  for 
my  collection,  there  are  fourteen  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw  and 
twelve  in  the  lower.  I  have  generally  found  that  the  rhino,  if 
left  alone,  tries  to  escape  from  the  presence  of  man  ;  and  clumsy 
as  its  appearance  is,  it  can  gallop  off  at  an  astonishing  rate,  and 
would  out-distance,  I  should  say,  even  a  horse.  But  if  attacked 
or  wounded,  it  shows  fight  and  may  charge  ;  and  therefore, 
according  to  some  men,  rhino-shooting  is  a  dangerous  sport  ; 
but  till  now  I  have  only  met  with  a  single  instance  where  the 
rhino  tossed,  gored,  and  trampled  on  its  aggressor. 

If  a  caravan  walking  in  single  file  stretches  a  long  threatening 
line  across  the  path  of  the  rhino,  it  probably  will  charge  right 
through  the  line,  under  the  impression  that  this  is  a  hostile 
demonstration  meant  to  encircle  it ;  but  once  through  the  line 
it  hurries  away,  only  too  eager  to  escape.  It  was  at  Nairobe, 
the  Kikuyu  end  of  the  Athi  plains,  where  I  shot  my  first  and 


RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING  243 


my  second  rhino.  I  was  in  charge  of  a  big  caravan,  as  I  was 
taking  ex-king  Mbogo  with  his  family  and  followers  back  to 
Uganda.  We  were  delayed  at  Fort  Smith,  and  the  food  supply 
was  running  short.  I  therefore  went  to  shoot  game,  and  I 
had  shot  one  hartebeest  antelope  and  two  Thomsonii  gazelles, 
when  a  pair  of  rhinos  appeared  in  the  distance.  The  wind 
was  blowing  from  the  rhinos  towards  us,  I  was  therefore  able 
to  approach  to  within  200  yards.  I  used  the  Lee-Speed  rifle 
with  solid  bullet. 

At  the  first  shot,  at  the  rhino  with  the  longest  horn,  it  sank 
into  a  sitting  posture  on  its  hind-legs,  and  at  the  second  shot 
it  rolled  over.  The  other  rhino  raced  furiously  round  and 
round  in  ever  -  increasing  circles  around  the  fallen  one,  and 
then  went  off  at  a  tangent.  On  walking  up  to  the  fallen 
rhino,  it  staggered  to  its  feet  and  attempted  to  charge,  but 
it  only  gored  the  ground  and  fell  down  again.  A  bullet  given 
as  a  coup-de-grdce  in  the  head  extinguished  life.  It  was  a  huge 
old  female. 

Very  few  of  the  caravan  porters  had  accompanied  me,  they 
could  only  carry  therefore  the  rhino -head  to  Fort  Smith,  in 
addition  to  the  game  already  shot.  Early  next  morning  a 
numerous  crowd  left  the  fort  to  supply  themselves  with  meat 
off  the  rhino.  I  followed  later  on,  but  not  feeling  up  to  doing 
the  six  hours'  march,  required  to  get  there  and  back,  I  decided 
to  take  with  me  my  light  network  hammock.  It  is  a  very 
suitable  one  for  travellers.  I  bought  it  at  Zanzibar  to  meet 
any  unforeseen  emergency  ;  it  folds  up  and  slips  into  a  tiny 
satchel.  I  little  thought  how  useful  i  should  find  it.  On  reach- 
ing Xairobe,  I  was  met  by  my  headman  and  the  others  who 
had  gone  with  him.  He  told  me  that  not  a  scrap  of  the  dead 
rhino  could  be  found.  Lions  and  hyaenas  had  devoured  it 
during  the  night.  In  fact,  if  I  had  not  brought  already  the 
rhino's  head  to  Fort  Smith,  my  story  of  having  shot  a  rhino 
might  have  appeared  a  myth. 

Just  then  a  pair  of  old  rhinos  appeared  in  sight ;  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  grass  about,  and  I  was  able  to  stalk  up  to 
within  a  hundred  yards.  They  were  almost  walking  side  by 
side,  grazing  as  they  went  along.  I  aimed  behind  the  right 
shoulder,  using  the  same  Lee-Speed  rifle.  On  receiving  the 
bullet,  the  rhino  spun  round  towards  me  and  gave  a  fierce 
snort  of  rage.     I  dropped  flat  on  the  ground  to  hide  myself, 


244  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


fully  expecting  it  would  charge,  and  trusting  it  might  not  see 
me  in  the  long  grass.  As  it  did  not  charge,  I  ventured  to  raise 
myself  to  find  out  what  had  become  of  it.  Both  rhinos  had  dis- 
appeared over  the  ridge  of  the  hill.  We  followed  with  great 
caution,  not  knowing  if  the  wounded  rhino  might  not  be  play- 
ing a  dangerous  game  of  hide-and-seek  with  us  in  the  long 
grass.  I  could  see  one  rhino  racing  away  in  the  plain  beyond, 
already  a  mile  or  more  beyond  our  reach.  At  last  we  dis- 
covered the  other  rhino  ;  it  was  dead  ;  killed  by  that  one  shot. 
It  was  an  old  bull  with  a  short  but  very  powerful  horn.  I  was 
glad  that  the  crowd,  having  come  all  this  distance  to  get  rhino- 
meat,  would  not  be  disappointed  after  all,  and  I  left  them 
chopping  up  the  huge  carcase. 

In  the  meanwhile  I  tried  to  stalk  an  antelope  I  had  seen 
about  a  mile  off ;  for  just  beyond  this  patch  of  long  grass  the 
plain  was  covered  with  short  grass  barely  six  inches  high.  I 
had  thus  the  advantage  of  seeing  the  game,  but  the  disadvantage 
of  being  seen  by  it.  As  I  drew  nearer,  I  saw,  still  farther  off, 
again  a  pair  of  rhinos.  Trusting  to  their  limited  range  of 
vision  and  to  the  wind  being  in  my  favour,  I  went  straight 
towards  the  pair.  At  200  yards  they  appeared  to  have  noticed 
us,  for  they  stood  and  looked  towards  us.  Kneeling  on  the 
ground,  I  aimed  at  the  one  with  the  longer  horn  ;  but  just 
as  I  pulled  the  trigger,  the  smaller  rhino  veered  round  and 
intercepted  my  bullet,  receiving  it  somewhere  high  up  in  the 
back.  Unfortunately,  the  wound  was  not  a  mortal  one. 
With  a  snort  of  rage  both  animals  came  in  a  sharp  trot 
towards  us. 

My  two  men  would  have  started  up  and  bolted,  but  I  just 
managed  to  prevent  it.  All  three  of  us  now  crawled  off  on  our 
stomachs,  endeavouring  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  advancing 
rhinos.  The  two  others  got  ahead  of  me,  when  suddenly  my 
Martini  rifle,  which  I  was  dragging  along  with  my  left  hand, 
blazed  off.  The  muzzle  was  pointing  behind  me  and  at  the 
moment  nearly  touched  my  left  foot.  The  bullet  went  clean 
through  my  foot.  The  trigger,  I  suppose,  had  got  caught  in 
some  stubble.  What  made  it  worse,  was  that  the  loud  report 
was  accompanied  by  a  cloud  of  smoke,  though  I  am  not  sure 
now  whether  it  was  not  this  very  smoke  which  hid  us  from 
the  twro  approaching  rhinos.  My  men  jumped  up  and  ran 
away,  whereupon  I  too  jumped  up  and  ran  ;  but  within  fifty 


RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING  245 


yards  or  less  I  sank  on  to  the  ground  overpowered  by  the  pain 
in  my  wounded  foot. 

The  rhinos  fortunately  galloped  off  without  having  seen  us. 
I  wore  long,  heavy  leather  shooting-boots  reaching  up  to  my 
knees.  With  some  difficulty  I  got  the  boot  and  the  blood- 
soaked  sock  off.  The  bullet  had  not  smashed  up  the  parts,  but 
drilled  a  clean  hole  where  the  great  toe  joins  the  foot.  The  toe 
itself  was  cold,  blue,  and  apparently  dead.  I  tore  off  a  long 
strip  of  cloth  to  serve  as  a  tourniquet  and  bandage,  and  twisted  it 
tightly  over  the  injured  part  to  staunch  the  flow  of  blood.  My 
two  men  returned  to  me,  with  sincere  regrets  at  not  having 
noticed,  in  their  panic,  my  accident.  The  sorrow  and  univer- 
sal sympathy  of  my  black  servants  and  caravan  porters  was 
touching  and  gratifying,  as  I  am  in  favour  of  upholding  strict 
discipline  in  a  caravan.  I  am  certain,  natives  appreciate  a  white 
man's  rule  the  more,  if  he  is  firm  but  at  same  time  scrupulously 
just  in  his  dealings  with  them. 

My  hammock  now  proved  very  welcome  ;  and  in  it  I  was 
carried  back  to  Fort  Smith.  What  worried  me  on  the  way, 
was  not  so  much  the  pain  as  the  thought  that,  if  the  great  toe 
was  really  done  for,  I  should  have  to  amputate  my  own  toe, 
not  a  very  pleasing  prospect,  or,  as  an  alternative,  something 
even  more  disagreeable  to  contemplate,  I  should  have  to  ask 
one  of  the  officials  at  the  fort  to  cut  the  toe  off,  and  not  one 
of  them  had  the  necessary  surgical  knowledge.  This  brought 
vividly  to  my  mind  a  scene  once  witnessed  by  my  father  in 
an  Indian  village.  A  blacksmith  happened  to  be  the  accredited 
village  surgeon.  A  man  appeared  at  the  forge  with  an  injured 
great  toe.  The  blacksmith  requested  him  to  put  his  foot  on 
the  anvil,  and  before  either  patient  or  onlookers  had  time  to 
realise  what  was  about  to  happen,  with  a  stroke  of  his  chisel 
and  hammer  the  blacksmith  had  clean  chopped  otf  the  toe. 

The  three-hours'  return  journey  to  the  fort  allowed  time 
for  the  collateral  circulation  to  establish  itself  in  my  injured 
foot,  and  when  I  dressed  the  wound  at  the  fort,  I  was  de- 
lighted to  find  that  amputation  was  not  necessary.  Within  a 
month,  applying  ordinary  antiseptic  treatment,  the  wound  had 
thoroughly  healed,  leaving  a  linear  scar  on  the  dorsal  surface 
and  a  round  scar  on  the  sole  of  the  foot  where  the  bullet  had 
made  its  exit.  Also  the  long  tendon,  upon  which  depends  so 
much  of  the  movement  of  the  great  toe,  became  reunited, 


246  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


though  clean  severed  by  the  accident.  In  the  course  of 
months  a  good  deal  of  the  original  movement  was  restored  to 
the  injured  part. 

My  third  rhino  was  again  an  old  bull.  I  shot  it  near  the 
Kiboko  river,  to  the  west  side  of  the  caravan  route.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  bush  about,  which  made  it  easy  to  stalk  to  within 
twenty  yards  of  the  rhino.  I  used  the  Martini  rifle.  I  preferred, 
owing  to  the  position  of  the  rhino,  to  try  the  shoulder-shot.  At 
once  it  turned  to  charge,  but  it  was  evidently  mortally  wounded, 
for  it  staggered,  as  it  gored  at  the  nearest  bush.  A  second  bullet, 
fired  at  the  head,  entered  the  brain  and  rolled  it  over.  One  man 
went  off  to  carry  the  welcome  news  to  the  caravan  and  to  act  as 
guide  to  those  who  were  willing  to  fetch  the  meat-supply  to  the 
camp.  In  the  meanwhile  another  of  my  men  began  to  cut  up 
the  rhino. 

The  hide  of  rhinos  and  hippos  is  greatly  valued  in  Africa 
because  of  the  durable,  one  might  say  imperishable,  whips 
and  thongs  which  it  provides.  The  hide  is  cut  up  into  long 
narrow  strips  of  suitable  length.  These  are  dried  in  the  open 
air  by  being  suspended  vertically  from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 
The  lower  end  of  each  strip  is  weighted  with  a  very  heavy 
stone.  I  sent  some  flaps  of  rhino-hide  to  London  and  had 
a  tea-table  made  out  of  them,  preserving  the  natural  black 
and  rough  appearance  of  the  skin.  But  there  is  a  process  by 
which  the  skin  can  be  made  more  or  less  transparent,  and 
shaped  into  bowls  and  similar  fancy  articles,  which  have  the 
appearance  of  polished  amber.  Rhino  feet  and  hippo  feet, 
when  set  and  mounted  with  the  toe-nails  polished,  yield  other 
interesting  curios  in  the  shape  of  door-stops,  flower-pots,  and 
boxes. 

Some  of  my  men  made  a  fire  and  cooked  pieces  of  the  rhino- 
meat,  whilst  others  were  engaged  in  cutting  up  the  body.  My 
boy  roasted  on  a  green  spit  some  of  the  liver  for  me  ;  it  was 
beautifully  tender  and  very  good  indeed.  When  the  heart  was 
removed,  it  was  found  that  the  bullet  had  gone  right  through  it, 
tearing  a  hole  an  inch  in  diameter.  It  is  astonishing  how,  with 
such  a  mortal  wound,  the  animal  could  have  had  the  strength  to 
gore  at  the  bush.  The  right  ear  of  this  rhino  was  slit  and  torn 
in  two  places,  but  these  were  old  wounds,  probably  got  in  some 

tight. 

The  last  time  I  passed  by  the  Kiboko  river,  I  came,  to  the 


RHINOCEROS-SHOOTING  247 


east  side  of  the  caravan  route,  upon  a  fine  old  rhino  bull ;  but  I 
could  not  get  sufficiently  near,  as  a  deep  and  wooded  hollow 
intervened.  I  had  three  of  my  men  with  me,  but  the  moment 
we  sighted  the  rhino,  they  left  me  and  swarmed  up  the  nearest 
trees.  Only  some  considerable  time  after  the  rhino  had  dis- 
appeared, crashing  in  headlong  flight  through  the  bushes,  did 
my  brave  boys  descend  from  their  perch  of  safety. 

My  fourth  rhino  was  a  young  solitary  bull ;  I  called  it  "  the 
baby,"  though  it  was  considerably  larger  than  a  donkey,  and 
evidently  old  enough  to  have  started  on  its  solitary  journey  on 
its  own  responsibility.    Owing  to  the  drought,  we  had  camped 


where  we  could  find  water  ;  and  the  porters  called  this  camp 
"  Campi-ya-daktari,"  —  "  the  doctor's  camp."  It  lies  between 
Campi-ya-simba  and  Muani.  The  ground  here  was  literally 
covered  with  large  beetles  and  biggish  scorpions. 

My  last  two  rhinos,  an  old  female  and  a  young  male,  I  shot 
at  Lanjora.  I  had  to  make  a  very  wide  circuit  to  get  round 
them,  so  as  to  have  the  wind  in  my  favour.  The  plain  was 
perfectly  open,  and  only  quite  short  grass  was  on  it,  not  a  tree 
or  shrub  could  be  seen  for  miles  around.  When  100  yards  off, 
the  rhinos  saw  me  and  at  once  trotted  towards  us.  I  knelt 
down  and  fired,  using  the  Lee-Speed  rifle.  The  very  first  shot 
took  effect,  and  caused  the  old  cow  to  stagger,  and  rooted  her  to 
the  spot.    But  the  young  bull  was  bent  on  doing  mischief,  and 


TWO  RHINOS. 


248  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


I  had  to  shoot  him.  I  gave  him  two  shots  in  rapid  succession  ; 
he  gave  a  scream  and  snort,  staggered,  and  retreated  to  where 
the  old  one  stood.  As  he  got  near  to  her,  he  rolled  over  with 
his  feet  in  the  air ;  but  somehow  he  managed  to  scramble  up 
once  more,  staggered  a  few  yards  farther,  and  rolled  over  finally 
on  to  his  side.  In  the  meanwhile  I  gave  several  shots  to  the  old 
one,  to  put  her  out  of  pain,  as  blood  was  streaming  from  her 
nose  and  mouth.  Then  she  too  fell  down  and  rolled  over. 
Curiously  enough,  their  backs  were  turned  towards  each  other 
and  their  tails  almost  touching.  The  female  had  a  remarkable 
pair  of  horns,  the  posterior  being  larger  and  longer  than  the 
anterior.  I  returned  to  our  camp,  and  left  the  men  to  cut  up 
the  meat ;  but  from  what  I  heard  afterwards,  I  was  sorry  that  I 
had  not  remained. 

The  double  supply  of  meat  caused  the  cutting  up  to  take 
the  men  longer  than  usual ;  and  as  it  grew  dark,  a  vast 
number  of  hyaenas  came,  from  no  one  knows  where,  and 
formed  a  sort  of  circle  round  the  score  or  more  of  men  who 
were  busy  with  the  meat.  Some  of  the  men  told  me  that  the 
old  hyaenas  were  patiently  waiting  till  their  turn  of  the  feast 
should  come  ;  but  in  the  meantime,  the  younger  hyaenas  were 
frisking  and  gambolling  about.  The  hyaenas  must  have  been 
rather  disappointed  at  the  short  commons  they  found,  as  very 
little  was  left  for  them  except  tough  hide. 


* 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING. 


■|  f    I   1  HE  hippo  is  a  gregarious  animal.  In 

^fe*  its  native  home,  the  rivers  and  lakes 

mfe  3r  .t  A  of  Africa,  the  name  of  hippopotamus, 

^  i.e.  "  river-horse,"  given  to  it  by  an- 

UW  r-4  cient  naturalists,  is  eminently  "suitable,  as  it 

&S/Mm*  usually  shows  only  a  narrow  bit  of  its  huge 

head.  A  line,  drawn  from  the  ears  to  the 
nostrils,  would  indicate  the  portion  the  hippo 
exposes  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  In 
uninhabited  regions  the  hippo  is  not  only  a 
perfectly  harmless,  but,  according  to  science, 
a  useful  animal,  designed  by  Nature  to  keep 
down  the  over  -  abundant  river  -  vegetation. 
Where,  however,  the  hippo  crosses  the  path 
of  civilisation,  it  becomes  a  nuisance  and  a 
Soudanese  soldier     menace,  and  it  is  sure  to  be  exterminated. 

WITH  THE  FAJAO  '  .  . 

paddle.  My  first  acquaintance  with  hippos  was  on 

the  Zambesi  and  Shire  rivers.  As  long  as 
we  travelled  on  the  stern-wheel  steamer,  a  sort  of  large- 
sized  raft,  the  hippos  caused  us  no  trouble,  but  wisely 
allowed  us  to  pass  unmolested.  On  the  Upper  Shire  river 
we  had  to  travel,  two  and  two,  in  a  boat  with  a  sort  of 
dog-kennel  at  the  stern.  In  this  kennel,  the  two  adventurous 
travellers  were  expected  to  find  during  the  day  shelter  from 
the  broiling  sun,  and  at  night  the  solace  of  sweet  refreshing 
sleep,  in  spite  of  the  miasmatic  emanations  of  the  river  and 
the  countless  swarms  of  mosquitoes.  When  to  these  attrac- 
tions the  hippo  adds  unexpectedly  his  appearance  on  the 
scene,  and,  as  very  nearly  happened  to  one  of  our  boats, 
threatens  to  capsize  the  boat  and  to  throw  the  occupants  into 


250  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


a  river  which  simply  swarms  with  crocodiles,  the  traveller  can 
scarcely  be  expected  to  wish  blessings  on  the  head  of  the  in- 
truder, though  the  hippo  probably  rose  in  perfect  innocence 
of  heart  to  the  surface  of  the  river,  merely  to  get  a  whiff  of 
fresh  air. 

At  Fajao,  on  the  Victoria  Nile,  and  in  the  Lur  country 
on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  the  natives  complained  to 
me  of  the  depredations  caused  by  hippos  coming  to  their 
fields  in  the  dead  of  night,  devouring  the  crops  of  Indian  and 
Kaffre  corn,  and  trampling  sweet-potato  and  similar  crops  to 
wreck  and  ruin  under  their  heavy  tread.  At  Fajao  it  became 
so  serious,  that  scarcity  of  food  began  to  grip  the  Soudanese 
garrison  and  the  Wanyoro  natives.  The  hippos  apparently 
knew  they  were  thieving,  for  they  never  showed  themselves  on 
moonlight  nights.  But  if  the  night  was  particularly  dark,  some 
hippo  would  turn  up  and  take  a  stroll,  destroying  the  crops  of 
perhaps  two  or  three  fields.  The  Soudanese  captain  went  him- 
self one  night  with  a  loaded  rifle  to  watch  for  these  marauders. 
According  to  his  own  account,  it  was  too  dark  to  aim,  with  the 
result  that  the  hippo  chased  hint,  and  he  had  a  narrow  escape. 
In  such  a  struggle  for  existence,  the  hippo  is  locally  exterminated, 
or  the  villagers  must  migrate  to  a  region  not  favoured  by  these 
animals. 

My  first  hippo  I  shot  in  the  Athi  river,  where  it  forms  a  series 
of  deep,  broad  pools  to  the  east  of  the  caravan  route.  Swahilies 
still  call  this  river  the  "  Mto  Kiboko,"  which  means  "hippo- 
potamus river."  To  shoot  in  absolute  safety  from  the  river-bank 
at  a  hippo  in  the  water,  partakes  very  much  of  the  nature  of 
killing  pigeons  at  a  shooting-match  or  bagging  pheasants  in 
well-stocked  preserves.  If  one  comes  upon  an  unsuspecting 
hippo,  one  usually  gets  for  the  first  shot  sufficient  time  for  a 
steady  aim  ;  afterwards  it  shows  less  and  less  of  its  head  above 
water,  at  longer  and  longer  intervals,  and  barely  allows  a  second 
or  two  for  taking  aim.  A  successful  shot  is  undoubtedly  the  one 
just  below  the  eye,  if  the  animal  happens  to  offer  this  mark ; 
but  if  it  presents  the  back  of  its  head,  then  midway  between  the 
ears.  I  have  seen  hippos  sink  dead  to  the  bottom  of  the  river 
with  one  successful  shot,  to  rise  only  when  the  gases  within  the 
body  produced  by  commencing  decomposition  have  buoyed  up 
the  carcase  and  caused  it  to  float.  But  more  frequently  death 
is  not  instantaneous,  and  the  hippo  rolls  over  and  over  in  its 


HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING  251 


dying  convulsions,  lashing  and  churning  the  water  with  its  feet 
before  it  finally  sinks.  When  the  dead  body  floats,  the  head 
hangs  deep  under  water,  and  the  four  feet  with  part  of  the  light- 
coloured  abdomen  show  above  the  surface.  My  first  specimen 
was  a  bull,  with  fair-sized  tusks. 

These  tusks  are  good  commercial  ivory,  but,  as  a  rule,  out 
of  the  twelve  ivory  tusks  the  hippo  carries,  only  the  four  large 
ones  of  the  lower  jaw  are  considered  of  sufficient  weight  and 
size  to  be  purchased  by  ivory  traders ;  two  of  these  four  tusks 
are  curved,  the  two  others  lie  between  the  curved  ones  and  are 
straight.  In  addition  to  the  twelve  ivory  tusks,  the  hippo  has 
twenty-four  ordinary  teeth. 

Hippo-meat  is  highly  prized  by  every  caravan.  I  gave 
my  caravan  therefore  a  day's  rest  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
fortunate  supply  of  meat.  Caravan  porters  get  only  vegetable 
rations  allowed  them,  in  the  shape  of  beans,  Indian-corn,  rice 
or  native  flour.  Meat  rations  are  therefore  a  windfall  to  them. 
We  had  marched  for  the  preceding  ten  days  in  daily  drenching 
rains,  the  rest-day  was  therefore  doubly  welcome,  and  it  turned 
out  a  lovely  day  with  a  blazing  hot  sun.  An  air  of  festivity  and 
feasting  spread  like  magic  over  the  camp,  and  my  first  hippo 
gave  a  day  of  rejoicing  and  happiness  to  my  weary  and  hungry 
caravan.  The  atmosphere  was  reeking  with  hippo-meat ;  some 
hung  in  long  strips  to  dry  in  the  scorching  sun,  some  was  placed 
on  gridiron-shaped  tressels  of  greenwood  over  a  slow  fire,  some 
was  grilling  on  spits  stuck  round  the  camp-fires,  and  some  was 
broiling  in  cooking-pots.  Neighbouring  villagers  came  and 
visited  us,  and  a  brisk  market  was  soon  in  full  swing  all  over 
the  camp.  The  skull  of  this  hippo  is  now  in  my  collection  in 
England  ;  I  took  the  trouble  to  send  it  home,  but  to  get  it 
properly  bleached  in  London  cost  alone  £2. 

My  second  hippo  was  a  female  ;  I  shot  it  in  the  Victoria 
Nile  at  Fajao,  where  the  river  forms  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  Uganda  Protectorate.  I  was  not  very  keen  to  go  on  the 
river  which,  here  and  there,  is  half  a  mile  broad.  It  teems  with 
crocodiles.  The  current,  too,  is  very  swift,  and  a  native  dug-out 
is  not  the  most  reassuring  canoe  to  venture  in.  The  Soudanese 
garrison,  however,  begged  me  to  shoot  one  of  the  hippos  in 
order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  havoc  caused  to  the  fields.  When 
I  consented  to  try,  they  brought  me  the  largest  dug-out,  named 
by  them  "  Kabarega,"  because  it  was  the  royal  canoe  of  King 


252  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Kabarega  of  Unyoro,  from  whom  it  had  been  captured  in  the 
last  war.  This  canoe  is  nearly  forty  feet  long  and  about  three 
feet  wide  ;  it  is  simply  the  hollowed-out  trunk  of  a  good-sized 
tree. 

The  paddle  used  at  Fajao  is  rather  curious.  Seen  sideways,  it 
has  a  slight  spoon-shaped  curve.  The  front  surface  of  the  paddle 
is  hollowed  so  as  to  leave  a  strong  overlapping  lip  all  round  ; 
the  back  is  like  a  broad  leaf  with  a  prominent  midrib,  terminat- 
ing in  a  blunt  knob  which  slightly  projects  to  form  the  tip  of 
the  blade.  The  soldiers  always  embark  fully  armed,  because 
the  natives  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  have  not  yet  been 
subdued,  are  hostile,  and  would  gladly  seize  any  favourable 
opportunity  to  massacre  a  few  of  the  hated  Soudanese  without 
running  too  great  a  risk  of  their  own  lives. 

There  was  no  need  for  the  men  with  me  in  the  "  Kabarega  " 
to  paddle.  The  current  swiftly  and  noiselessly  carried  the 
huge  canoe  like  a  bubble  down  the  stream.  We  left  at  6  a.m. 
Soon  an  inquisitive  hippo  raised  his  head  out  of  the  water.  I 
fired  and  missed.  After  missing  hippos  five  times  in  succession, 
I  suspected  there  was  something  wrong  with  the  fore-sight 
of  my  rifle,  a  sporting  Martini-Henri.  I  borrowed  the  rifle  of 
one  of  the  soldiers.  The  longer  and  heavier  military  weapon 
felt  cumbersome  ;  but  the  sighting  was  excellent,  and  the  very 
first  bullet  dropped  into  the  very  centre  of  the  swirl  caused  by 
the  head  of  another  hippo  disappearing  below  the  surface  of  the 
water.  My  next  bullet  caught  the  hippo  just  below  the  eye, 
and  we  heard  it  crashing  into  the  skull. 

When  it  rose  to  the  surface  farther  down-stream,  it  showed 
plainly  that  it  was  mortally  wounded.  The  men  paddled 
vigorously ;  and  as  we  gained  on  it,  I  reserved  my  shot, 
because  a  severely  wounded  hippo  has  to  rise  very  frequently 
to  the  surface  to  breathe.  We  manoeuvred  to  drive  it  towards 
the  British  side  of  the  Nile,  so  as  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  hostile  Shuli  bank  of  the  river :  and  I  ^ave  the  wounded 
hippo  a  second  bullet  at  close  quarters  through  the  back 
of  the  head.  It  sank  like  a  stone.  We  landed  to  await 
the  rising  of  the  body,  when  the  decomposing  gases  would 
buoy  it  up.  The  canoe  was  moored  three  hundred  yards  lower 
down  the  stream  as  a  further  precaution.  The  hippo  sank  at 
8.30  A.M.  ;  exactly  at  10  a.m.  it  rose  with  an  explosive  splash  ; 
but  the  time  the  body  takes  to  rise  I  subsequently  found  to  vary 


HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING 


considerably.  The  current  carried  the  body  beyond  our  dug- 
out ;  but  it  was  ultimately  secured  and  lashed  to  the  side  of  the 
canoe. 

Going  down-stream  with  a  swift  current  is  one  thing,  but 
working  up-stream  against  it  in  a  heavy  dug-out  with  a  hippo 
in  tow  is  preciously  different.  Expecting  to  be  back  at  Fajao  in 
a  couple  of  hours,  we  had  brought  no  food  with  us,  and  not  even 


LANDING-PLACE  AT  FAJAO. 


matches.  The  hippo  was  dragged  to  the  nearest  papyrus  sudd, 
and  then  and  there  cut  up  on  the  squashy  surface,  our  feet  sinking 
ankle-deep  in  the  water. 

The  Soudanese  have  an  ingenious  method  of  getting  a 
fire.  Two  dry  sticks  and  a  bit  of  tinder,  represented  by  a 
scrap  of  bark-cloth  in  this  instance ;  this  was  all  that  was 
required.  It  was  interesting  to  watch  the  process,  and  one 
appreciates  it  the  more,  when  about  to  share  in  the  blessing 
of  having  a  fire.  One  of  the  men  selected  two  dry  sticks.  About 
the  middle  of  one  stick,  placed  horizontally  on  the  ground  and 
held  down  by  the  two  feet,  a  small  hole  is  scratched.    The  other 


254  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


stick  is  shaped  into  a  long  blunt-pointed  pencil,  held  vertically, 
and  made  to  fit  the  hole  in  the  horizontal  stick.  The  vertical 
stick  is  now  twirled  furiously  between  the  two  palms.  Two  men 
sit  opposite  each  other,  so  that  the  instant  one  man  stops 
exhausted,  the  other  may  keep  up  the  twirling.  In  an  incre- 
dibly short  space  of  time  a  slight  smoke  arose  from  the  stick 
on  the  ground.  The  bit  of  bark-cloth  serving  as  tinder  was 
now  placed  against  the  sticks,  and  the  twirling  continued  vigor- 
ously. The  bark-cloth  caught  fire.  This  was  leisurely  blown, 
with  dry  grass  and  dry  twigs,  into  a  bright  flame.  Soon  a 
roaring  fire,  upheld  by  papyrus  reeds,  was  crackling  merrily  on 
the  surface  of  the  sudd,  with  the  Nile  flowing  but  a  few  inches 
below  it. 

My  boy  now  prepared  some  "  imshikaki  "  for  me.  This  is 
done  by  spitting  small  bits  of  meat,  fat,  and  liver,  the  hippo 
supplying  the  ingredients,  alternately  on  a  green  twig  and  prop- 
ping it  near  the  fire,  without  however  letting  it  touch  the  fire. 
From  time  to  time  the  spit  has  to  be  turned.  I  enjoyed  my 
meal,  "  hippo  a  la  imshikaki,"'  washed  down  with  Nile  water. 
I  became  quite  a  connoisseur,  and  I  began  to  pick  out  bits 
of  fat  in  preference  to  the  lean.  Unfortunately  it  was  very 
tough,  and  my  jaws  and  teeth  got  soon  tired.  The  Soudanese 
ate  heartily  and  enjoyed  this  hippo  picnic  immensely.  Xot  a 
scrap  of  the  hippo  was  wasted.  The  very  intestines,  after  being 
cleaned  of  contents,  were  carefully  deposited  in  the  canoe. 
The  dug-out  was  heavily  laden  with  the  cut-up  hippo  piled 
into  it. 

The  return  journey  to  Fajao  was  decidedly  unpleasant,  and 
as  we  toiled  slowly  up-stream  darkness  overtook  us.  There  was 
no  moon,  only  the  uncertain  glimmer  of  the  water  in  the  star- 
light. Every  now  and  then  we  would  pass  a  spot,  where  the 
sickening  odour  of  crocodiles  would  be  overpoweringly  strong 
on  the  sudd.  Then  again  some  inquisitive  hippo  would  come 
to  the  surface  unpleasantly  near  our  canoe,  and  would  remind 
us  of  the  danger  of  being  capsized. 

A  beacon  had  been  lit  to  guide  us  to  the  landing-place 
We  all  felt  thankful  and  relieved,  on  reaching  our  huts  in 
safety.  I  was  too  tired  to  eat  anything,  but  I  had  a  little  milk 
and  brandy  before  tumbling  into  bed.  Next  day  I  had  a  grand 
distribution  of  hippo-meat  to  the  whole  of  our  Soudanese  gar- 
rison and  their  families.    This  female  hippo  was  enormously 


HIPPOPOTAMUS-SHOOTING  255 


fat,  a  striking  contrast  to  the  lean  male  I  had  shot  in  the  Athi 
river.  Hippo-fat  is  greatly  prized  by  natives,  who  attribute  to  it 
imaginary  medicinal  properties.  For  culinary  purposes  I  can 
scarcely  recommend  it,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  prejudice  anybody 
who  is  anxious  to  try  it.  Unless  hunger  supplies  the  sauce  and 
nature  provides  jaws  and  teeth  like  a  negro's,  hippo-meat  is  not 
likely  to  find  favour  in  Europe. 


A  HIPPOPOTAMUS. 


My  third  hippo  was  a  bull  ;  I  shot  it  in  Lake  Albert.  On  a 
subsequent  visit  to  Fajao  I  got  my  fourth  hippo,  a  female,  and 
exceedingly  fat.  I  wasted  a  number  of  cartridges,  missing  time 
after  time  ;  but  at  last,  one  successful  shot  below  the  eye  sent  the 
huge  animal  splashing  and  struggling,  with  its  feet  in  the  air. 
The  hippo  sank  mid-stream  ;  after  three  hours  the  body  rose 
from  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  floated.  The  current  carried  it 
more  than  a  mile  beyond  where  we  expected  it.  Owing  to  the 
serpentine  curves  the  river  makes  at  this  spot,  we  should 
have  lost  our  prize,  had  it  not  been  for  a  friendly  native 
who  happened  to  be  fishing  lower  down  the  river  at  the 
time.  He  saw  the  body  float  past  and  stopped  it  for  us. 
There  was  a  convenient  inlet  at  hand,  where  we  succeeded  in 


256  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


rolling  the  huge  body  on  to  the  grassy  bank,  as  seen  in  the 
illustration. 

On  this  occasion,  we  had  a  narrow  shave  of  being  upset  in 
our  dug-out.  One  of  the  hippos,  either  frightened  by  the  shots 
or  enraged,  and  either  accidentally  or  intentionally,  bumped  up 
under  us  and  partly  tilted  the  canoe  over.  We  could  see  him 
below  the  water  doubling  round  and  coming  for  us  a  second 
time.  The  second  bump  threatened  to  shatter  the  canoe.  I 
fired  at  haphazard,  as  I  could  not  possibly  have  hit,  the  part 
of  the  body  visible  to  me  being  below  the  surface.  Fortu- 
nately the  hippo  sheered  off  in  one  direction,  and  we  hurriedly 
left  in  the  opposite. 

Some  of  the  hippo-fat,  melted  down  and  strained,  I  filled 
into  two  large  gourds,  holding  a  gallon  or  two.  This  I  kept 
for  my  private  use.  It  came  very  handy  later  on,  when  I  ran 
out  of  soap  for  washing  my  clothes.  My  little  Wahima 
servant  knew  how  to  manufacture  native  soap  ;  and  as  I 
promised  him  for  his  own  private  use  one  cake,  or  rather  ball, 
of  soap  out  of  every  ten  he  manufactured,  he  was  keen  to  be 
entrusted  with  my  soap-boiling  venture.  He  certainly  produced 
some  excellent  hippo-soap,  but  I  should  be  afraid  to  recommend 
it  for  the  complexion  !  He  refused  to  try  my  suggestion  of 
using  wood-ashes,  and  preferred  following  his  own  method. 
It  consisted  in  collecting  the  peelings  of  green  bananas  from 
all  the  refuse  heaps  in  the  village.  He  burnt  these  peelings,  and 
used  the  ashes  to  form  a  lye  in  which  he  boiled  the  hippo-fat. 
This  hippo-soap,  kneaded  into  lumps  about  the  size  of  cricket- 
balls,  resembled  the  ordinary  native  soap  in  colour  and  con- 
sistency. It  lasted  me  for  some  time,  until  a  good  supply  of 
ordinary  washing  soap  reached  me  from  Kampala. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


GAZELLES. 

THE  Thomsonii  gazelle  is  found  in  smaller  or  larger 
herds  between  the  Makindos  river  and  Lake  Nakuru. 
It  is  about  the  size  of  a  goat,  and  provides  the  most 
exquisite  roast  for  the  hunter's  table.  It  is  not  a  bit 
shy,  and  often  allows  the  hunter  to  walk  up  to  within  fifty  yards 
of  it.  Of  course,  where  it  has  been  much  shot  at,  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  caravan  road,  it  has 
learnt  to  distrust  the  approach  of  man,  and  to  seek  safety 
in  flight  already  at  200  yards.  Young  Thomsonii  gazelles 
are  constantly  being  caught  by  the  Masai,  who  bring  them  to 
Fort  Smith  and  Naivasha  station,  and  sell  them  for  a  mere 
trifle. 

On  my  second  journey  I  caught,  with  my  hands,  a  young 
Thomsonii  alive.  It  was  at  Lanjora.  I  had  shot  a  zebra,  and 
it  was  getting  dusk,  when,  on  my  way  back  to  the  camp,  I 
nearly  trod  on  the  little  creature  cosily  curled  up  for  sleep.  I 
dropped  at  once  on  the  top  of  it  and  seized  it.  Next  morning 
we  reached  Machakos,  and  I  bought  a  she-goat  for  eight  rupees, 
equivalent  at  the  time  to  ten  shillings.  The  goat  had  a  kid  of  about 
the  same  size  as  the  young  Thomsonii,  and  she  made  no  difficulty 
in  letting  the  stranger  share  with  her  own  young  one,  provided 
we  just  held  one  of  her  legs.  The  young  Thomsonii  did  not 
relish  the  first  sip  of  goat-milk,  but,  being  hungry,  it  came  back 
for  more,  and  after  that  took  to  it  most  naturally.  On  the 
march  I  had  the  Thomsonii  carried  ;  but  before  we  started  on 
the  march,  and  immediately  on  arrival  at  camp,  and  whenever 
the  caravan  stopped  to  rest  on  the  road,  I  saw  to  it  myself  that 
the  Thomsonii  was  brought  to  the  goat  and  fed.  It  had  already 
become  quite  tame  and  a  pet  with  my  men,  when,  on  a  sudden, 
at  Kibwezi  it  was  seized  with  convulsions  and  died.  Whether 

257  R 


258 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


it  had  eaten  some  poisonous  plant,  or  some  one  had  hurt  it, 
I  do  not  know. 

Such  young  ones,  as  are  allowed  to  run  about  free  in 
some  of  the  up-country  stations,  thrive  very  well  indeed,  and 
have  been  successfully  reared.  They  breed  in  captivity,  and 
become  very  tame ;  in  fact,  they  are  apt  to  become  too 
cheeky.  "  Billy,"  the  pet  Thomsonii  at  Fort  Smith,  has  been 
an  inmate  for  some  years,  and,  as  familiarity  breeds  contempt, 
he  goes  for  natives  without  having  received  any  provocation. 
I  have  seen  brave  Masai  warriors  edge  sideways  out  of  the  fort 
in  a  hurry,  when  master  "  Billy "  has  been  on  the  war-path. 
The  captive  Thomsonii  appear  to  relish  the  leaves  of  the 
sweet-potato  plant. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  horns  between  the  male 
and  the  female.  The  horns  of  the  buck  curve  upward  and 
backward,  and  then  bend  slightly  forward,  terminating  in  a 
very  sharp  and  dangerous  point.  The  last  two  inches  near 
the  tip  are  smooth,  but  the  rest  of  the  horn  has  the  charac- 
teristic u  rings."  In  some  of  the  specimens  I  have  shot, 
the  horns  diverge  ;  in  others  they  seem  to  run  almost 
parallel.  The  horns  of  the  female  are  tiny,  compared  with 
those  of  the  male.  They  are  short  and  slender,  and  lack  the 
"rings."  In  two  of  the  specimens  I  shot,  one  of  the  horns  was 
deformed. 

The  skin  of  the  Thomsonii,  dressed  and  mounted,  makes  a 
very  pretty  mat.  Owing  to  the  abdomen  being  white,  the  mat 
has  a  white  border.  The  back  is  a  dark  tan,  which  shades  into 
a  light  brown  at  the  flanks,  where  a  characteristic  dark  brown 
stripe  borders  the  white  abdomen.  A  similar  dark  brown  but 
short  line  fringes,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  tail,  each 
hind-quarter.  I  cannot  remember  having  seen  anywhere  else 
so  many  Thomsonii  gazelles  as  I  saw  on  my  third  journey  at 
Lake  Xaivasha,  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake.  The  usual 
caravan  route  is  along  the  east  shore,  but  incessant  rains 
had  rendered  the  Morendat  and  Gilgil  rivers,  which  flow  into 
Lake  Xaivasha,  impassable  for  our  caravan,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  try  the  west  route.  Both  these  rivers  are  now 
bridged,  being  part  of  the  new  caravan  cart-road,  on  which  so 
much  money  has  been  expended. 

The  Grantii  gazelle  is  a  handsome  animal  of  a  delicate  fawn 
colour.    In  the  Thomsonii  the  tan  colour  reaches  right  up  to  the 


GAZELLES 


259 


tail ;  but  in  the  Grantii  the  fawn  colour  stops  some  three  or  four 
inches  from  the  tail  and  then  changes  into  white.  As  in  the 
Thomsonii,  a  dark  brown  but  short  line  fringes,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  tail,  each  hind-quarter.  The  horizontal  dark  brown 
stripe  along  the  flank,  which  is  a  conspicuous  characteristic  of 
the  Thomsonii,  is  absent  in  the  Grantii. 

Both  sexes  have  horns.  The  horns  of  the  buck  usually 
measure  about  twro  feet,  but  may  occasionally  exceed  three 
feet.  They  curve  upward  and  backward,  gradually  diverging 
from  each  other  ;  the  direction  then  changes  to  upward  and 
forward,  and  the  last  three  inches  bend  gracefully  forward  and 
inwrard.  The  general  shape  of  the  horns  belongs  to  the  sort 
known  as  "  lyrate."  The  last  three  inches  are  smooth  and  ter- 
minate in  a  sharp  point,  the  rest  is  marked,  as  in  the  Thomsonii, 
with  "  rings."  Grantii  with  the  most  symmetrical  and  typical 
horns  are  found  in  the  Kilimanjaro  region,  to  which  the  Kiboko 
river  may  be  said  to  belong.  It  was  at  the  Kiboko  river,  on  my 
fourth  journey,  where  I  shot  my  finest  specimen  of  a  Grantii  buck, 
as  regards  symmetry  of  horns.  I  kept  the  mask  and  had  the 
head  mounted  in  London.  Subsequently  the  authorities  at  the 
South  Kensington  Natural  History  Museum  asked  me  to  let 
their  artist  take  a  drawing  of  it. 

At  Lake  Nakuru  I  wounded  a  Grantii  buck  in  the  leg.  This 
led  to  a  tedious  pursuit  ;  for  the  wounded  animal  would  fre- 
quently stop,  but  never  let  me  get  nearer  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  Finally  it  went  up  a  steep  and  rocky  hill ;  I  followed, 
when  suddenly  it  descended  again  to  the  plain,  leaving  me 
exhausted  and  out  of  breath  about  half-way  up  the  hill.  I 
gazed  down  at  the  Grantii  with  a  feeling  of  disappoint- 
ment at  losing  it  after  all  my  energetic  perseverance,  when 
a  novel  and  unexpected  scene  was  enacted  before  my  eyes. 
If  I  had  been  in  the  plain,  I  should  not  have  seen  this  scene, 
but  owing  to  my  position  half-way  up  the  hill,  I  had  a  capital 
view  of  the  plain  and  of  what  was  taking  place  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill. 

The  Grantii  had  paused,  and  was  so  engrossed  with  looking 
up  in  my  direction,  that  it  did  not  observe  the  danger  threaten- 
ing it  from  quite  a  different  quarter.  I  became  aware  of  a 
large  brown  animal  moving  along  the  foot  of  the  hill  towards 
the  Grantii.  Neither  animal  suspected  as  yet  the  presence  of 
the  other,  and  neither  could  see  the  other,  owing  to  the  scattered 


260  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 

boulders  of  rock.  Of  a  sudden  the  new-comer  stopped,  raised 
its  head,  and  sniffed  the  air.  The  next  moment  it  rushed  for- 
ward with  astonishing  speed.  The  wind  blew  towards  it,  and 
it  must  have  scented,  that  a  wounded  animal  was  not  far  off. 
The  attention  of  the  Grantii  was  attracted  by  the  noise ;  it 
gave  but  one  look,  and  seemed  to  know  that  now  indeed  it 
was  a  race  for  life. 

It  made  for  the  open  plain,  the  pursuer  after  it.  The 
pursuer  gained  steadily  on   it,   when    the   Grantii  doubled 

magnificently  in  the 
very  nick  of  time  to 
escape  the  fatal  bite. 
I  believe,  if  it  had 
not  been  wounded 
and  somewhat  tired 
by  my  long  pursuit,  it 
could  have  escaped. 
But  the  pursuer 
again  drew  nigh,  and 
though  the  Grantii 
staved  off  the  fatal 
moment  for  a  while 
by  skilful  doubling, 
it  was  seized  at  last 
by  the  flank.  Both 
animals  rolled  over 
and  over.  The  Gran- 
tii, having  shaken  it- 
self free,  once  more 
grant's  gazelle.    9  dashed    across  the 

plain.  But  its  minutes 

were  numbered,  and  this  exciting  pursuit  ended  in  the  Grantii 
being  torn  down  to  the  ground  and  lying  helpless. 

Three  of  my  Swahilies,  who  had  accompanied  me,  declared 
that  only  a  lion  could  have  captured  the  Grantii ;  and  I  felt 
inclined  to  think  so  too,  as  the  scene  took  place  in  full,  bright 
daylight  between  eleven  and  twelve  in  the  morning.  I  now 
hastened  down-hill  to  dispute  with  the  lion,  or  whatever  the 
animal  might  be,  the  Grantii  which  I  considered  mine.  At 
the  same  time,  there  was  the  hope  of  bagging  the  other  animal 
as  well.    As  I  drew  near,  I  saw  that  it  was  not  a  lion,  but  a 


GAZELLES 


261 


big  brown  hyaena  which  sneaked  off  when  we  advanced.  As 
the  hyaena  had  done  me  a  good  turn,  I  did  not  hurt  it,  but 
gave  my  attention  to  the  Grantii  which  had  its  flank  ripped 
open  and  the  intestines  protruding.  The  poor  beast  staggered 
up  and  tried  to  show  fight.  We  seized  its  horns,  threw  it  down, 
and  saved  it  further  suffering  by  cutting  its  throat. 

The  Grantii  gazelles  herd  together  in  small  numbers  only. 
The  horns  of  the  female  Grantii  are  different  to  those  of  the 
male.  They  are  about  a  foot  long  and  slender.  They  resemble 
somewhat  the  horns  of  the  male  Thomsonii,  except  that  the 
"  rings  "  are  not  so  prominent,  and  the  horns  are  more  uniformly 
slender  from  the  base  upward.  The  illustration  shows  a 
specimen  which  I  secured  at  Bondoni  not  far  from  Machakos. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


ANTELOPES. 

THE  broad  distinction  between  antelopes  and  deer  lies 
in  the  fact,  that  the  horns  of  antelopes  are  hollow,  and 
are  set  upon  a  solid  bony  core  as  in  oxen.  The  horns 
are  never  shed,  and  have  to  last  the  animal  through  life  ; 
consequently,  every  now  and  then  an  antelope  is  shot,  which  has 
one  of  the  horns  broken  off,  just  as  an  elephant  may  now  and 
then  be  found  with  only  one  tusk,  the  other  having  been  broken 
off  or  mal-formed.  Antelopes  vary  considerably  in  size,  from 
the  eland,  which  almost  approaches  a  rhinoceros  in  bulk,  to  the 
tiny  pah,  which  is  not  much  larger  than  a  hare.  Some,  as,  for 
instance,  the  striped  koodoo  and  the  spotted  reed-buck,  are  very 
handsomely  marked,  but  the  majority  of  antelopes  have  a  plain 
coat,  either  brown  or  grey.  Some,  like  the  hartebeest,  have  short 
hair  ;  others,  like  the  water-buck,  are  shaggy.  The  tail  of  the 
wildebeest  resembles  that  of  a  horse  ;  in  the  steinbok  the  tail  is 
shorter  than  in  a  rabbit.  Both  sexes  of  some  species,  as  the 
hartebeest,  have  horns  ;  but  only  the  buck  of  other  species,  as 
the  impalla. 

The  horns  do  not  branch,  yet  every  species  has  its  own 
characteristic  and  distinguishing  variations  in  length  and  shape. 
The  African  antelopes  have  two  horns ;  there  are  no  four- 
horned  species,  as  in  India. 

The  Impalla  or  PallaJi  Antelope. — By  the  new  game-laws  all 
shooting  is  prohibited  between  the  Athi  river  and  the  Kedong. 
But  it  happens  that  the  impalla  is  most  common  just  outside 
these  limits.  I  have  shot  them  as  far  south  as  Campi-ya-Simba 
and  as  far  north  as  the  Gilgil  river. 

The  impalla  frequents  the  bush.  I  have  never  seen  it  roam, 
like  the  Thomsonii  gazelle,  over  extensive  open  grass-plains. 
The  bush  facilitates  stalking,  but  it  has  its  drawbacks.  It 


ANTELOPES 


263 


screens  the  hunter  from  the  game,  but  it  also  hides  the  game 
from  the  hunter  ;  and  as  the  game  has  the  senses  of  smell,  sight, 
and  hearing  more  acute  than  man,  it  has  time  to  escape  before 
the  hunter  is  aware  of  its  proximity.  The  colour  of  the  impalla 
is  brown,  and  a  dark  brown  vertical  stripe  fringes  each  hind- 
quarter  at  a  short  distance  from  the  tail.  The  doe  impalla  has 
no  horns.  The 
buck  is  usually 
accompanied  by 
a  small  herd 
of  six  or  more 
does. 

On  my  fifth 
journey  I  had  an 
exciting  chase 
after  a  buck  at 
Campi-ya-Sim- 
ba.  Time  after 
time  the  watch- 
ful eyes  of  the 
does  prevented 
my  getting  with- 
in range  of  the 
buck.  I  could 
have  shot  one  of 
the  does  more 
than  once,  but 
I  did  not  want 
to ;  and,  as  often 

happens  in  such  a  case,  it  seemed  as  if  they  knew  it.  At  last 
I  did  succeed  in  giving  the  buck  a  bullet.  It  then  left  the 
herd,  but  it  led  me  a  fine  chase  over  hill  and  dale,  through  bush 
and  brake.  More  than  once  I  got  within  range,  and  several 
times  more  it  was  hit.  We  followed  it  through  a  forest  and 
up  to  a  river.  Owing  to  the  reeds  and  bushes  at  the  water's 
edge,  we  only  got  a  glimpse  of  it,  as  it  plunged  into  the  river 
and  tried  to  swim  across.  But  the  opposite  bank  was  very 
steep ;  and  as  the  buck  swam  along  it,  looking  out  for  an 
open  and  convenient  spot  to  land,  we  floundered  through  the 
reeds  along  our  side  of  the  river,  trying  to  get  a  sight  of  the 
animal. 


THE  IMPALLA  ANTELOPE. 


264  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


As  it  swam,  it  only  exposed  its  head  and  horns  ;  even  the 
neck  was  immersed.  I  had  two  more  shots.  The  first  grazed 
one  of  the  horns  and  struck  off  a  splinter  ;  the  second  went 
into  the  head.  Instantly  it  sank,  head  dow7nwards,  as  if  trying 
to  stand  on  its  head,  and  the  hind  part  of  the  body  came  for 
a  second  into  view.  It  took  some  time  before  one  of  my  men 
found  a  spot,  where  we  could  cross  over  to  the  other  bank,  and 
then  we  had  the  further  trouble  of  fishing  the  body  out.  The 
horns  reached  England  safely,  and  are  in  my  collection  ;  but 
when  I  look  at  them,  the  whole  scene,  as  it  happened  in  the 
solitude  of  the  African  wilderness,  passes  before  me. 

The  horns  of  the  buck  impalla  form  a  series  of  graceful 
curves  ;  in  their  upward  curve  the  direction  is  at  first  forward 
and  outward,  this  changes  to  backward  and  outward,  and  then 
becomes  backward  and  inward,  and  finally  ends  by  being 
forward  and  inward.  The  last  four  inches  near  the  tip  are 
smooth  and  terminate  in  a  sharp  point,  the  rest  of  the  horn 
is  "  ringed." 

The  buck  shown  in  the  illustration  is  not  the  one  that  gave 
us  so  much  trouble.  It  is  one  that  I  secured  at  the  Kedong  with 
one  bullet. 

The  Wildebeest. — The  gnu  or  wildebeest  is  a  singular  creature. 
Its  horns  remind  one  of  the  ox,  its  tail  and  mane  of  the  horse, 
its  shaggy  tuft  of  beard  of  the  goat,  and  yet  its  trunk  and  limbs 
are  those  of  an  antelope.  There  are  several  species  of  gnu,  but 
the  one  seen  in  these  regions  is  the  "blue  wildebeest,"  so  called 
from  its  bluish  silver  grey  colour.  The  horns  of  an  old  male 
may  be  mistaken  by  the  inexperienced  as  buffalo  horns,  because 
they  form  a  similar  broad  band  across  the  forehead,  wide  sweep 
to  the  side,  and  sharp  terminal  curve  inwards.  Both  sexes  have 
horns,  but  those  of  the  female  are  more  slender.  In  the  young 
animal  the  horns  take  only  a  slight  bend  to  the  side  and  then 
run  upwards. 

The  wildebeest  is  found  either  singly  or  in  herds  which 
may  vary  from  a  few  individuals  to  many  hundreds.  The 
Athi  plains  and  the  open  grass-lands  by  Campi-ya-Simba  are 
some  of  its  favourite  spots.  Where  it  has  been  much  shot  at,  it 
has  become  shy  and  timid  ;  but  where  shooting  is  prohibited, 
as  on  the  Athi  plains,  it  will  calmly  go  on  grazing  within  fifty 
yards  of  a  passing  caravan.  It  looks  a  formidable  creature,  but 
is  really  most  inoffensive  ;  even  when  wounded  and  pursued,  it 


ANTELOPES 


265 


only  seeks  safety  in  flight  and  never  attacks.  A  solitary  animal, 
when  chased,  will  sometimes  go  through  singular  antics,  bobbing 
its  head  up  and  down  and  whisking  the  tail  about.  I  have  seen 
it  tumble  down  as  if  shot,  scramble  up,  career  off  to  a  distance, 
then  suddenly  turn  round  and  stand  still,  staring  at  the  pursuer, 
as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

The  flesh  is  not  very  palatable,  but  decidedly  acceptable  to 
the  ever-hungry  Swahili.  On  one  occasion,  on  my  fifth 
journey,  I  shot  a  female  at  Lanjora  with  my  Lee-Speed  rifle. 
The  bullet  broke  both  hind-legs  and  the  poor  brute  dragged 
itself  along  on  its  fore-legs.  I  shall  never  forget  the  distressing 
bellowings  of  pain  it  uttered.  For  though,  as  a  rule,  game 
suffers  death  without  a  sound  of  pain,  now  and  then  some 
poor  animal  does  moan  or  cry  out.  The  herd  of  wilde- 
beests remained  standing  near  the  one  which  I  had  wounded  ; 
but  though  my  men  urged  me  to  shoot  some  more,  I  would 
not,  as  I  considered  one  animal  sufficient  for  the  caravan.  Meat 
can  only  be  kept  for  a  very  few  days  ; 
sometimes  it  goes  bad  already  on  the 
following  day.  It  would,  therefore,  be 
wasteful  to  shoot  more  than  is  abso- 
lutely required.  The  herd  moved  off,  as 
I  advanced  towards  them,  and  I  speedily 
ended  the  sufferings  of  the  wounded  one. 
A  good  many  wildebeest  must  fall  a  prey 
to  lions,  judging  by  the  skulls  which  litter 
the  grassy  plains.  Hartebeest  skulls  are 
also  fairly  common ;  but  skulls  of  gazelles 
are  rarely  seen,  and  perhaps  are  de- 
voured  by  wild  beasts,  owing  to  the 


bones  being  smaller. 

The  Pah. — From  Mombasa  right  up 
to  Singo  this  tiny  antelope  is  more  or 
less   common.     Near  the  Tsavo  river 


used  to  be  its  favourite  haunt.    It  pre-  a  pah  antelope,  s 

fers  grassy  jungles,  where  it  can  hide 

among  the  thorny  shrubs  and  undergrowth,  impassable  to 
larger  animals.  It  is  easier  to  bag  a  specimen  with  a  shot-gun 
than  with  a  rifle. 

On  the  march  through  Singo,  happening  to  be  a  little  ahead  of 
my  caravan,  and  tramping  along  with  a  walking-stick  in  my  hand, 


266  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


one  of  these  little  creatures  suddenly  jumped  up  out  of  the  grass 
at  my  feet.  Before  it  could  dash  away,  up  went  my  stick  and 
caught  it  a  whack  on  the  neck,  stretching  it  dead.  The  Soudanese 
soldier  walking  behind  me  then  carried  it  for  me,  slung  from 
the  stick,  till  the  caravan  overtook  us. 

Natives  have  a  clever  way  of  making  a  sort  of  pouch  or 
hand-bag  out  of  the  skin  of  small  animals,  such  as  kids,  pahs, 
weasels,  or  wild-cats.  One  cut  or  stab  through  the  throat 
sideways  furnishes  an  opening  large  enough  to  enable  the 
operator  to  withdraw  the  whole  of  the  body  of  the  animal, 
peeling  the  skin  off  as  if  it  were  a  tight-fitting  glove.  The 
skin  is  then  turned  inside  out,  dried  in  the  sun,  and  mani- 
pulated until  it  is  soft  and  pliant.  The  pouch  is  carried 
suspended  from  the  wrist  or  arm,  by  slipping  the  hand  through 
the  hole  at  the  neck.  I  have  in  my  collection  one  of  these 
curious  hand-bags,  which  I  got  on  my  journey  through  the 
Magwangwara  country  in  German  East  Africa.  It  is  the  skin  of 
a  weasel,  and  has  the  jawbones  and  teeth  left  in  situ.  The  native 
to  whom  it  belonged  carried  in  it  his  most  cherished  possession, 


march  through  Singo,  one  of  the  Uganda  provinces.  Shortly 
before  reaching  our  camp  at  Busibika,  we  were  crossing  a  grassy 
plain  with  a  few  shrubs  and  scattered  trees,  when  I  caught  sight 
of  a  large  herd  of  antelopes;  but  curiously  enough  there  was  only 


which  hap- 
pened to  be 
a  snuff-box. 
He  sold  me 
the  handbag, 
but  he  would 
not  hear  of 
parting  with 
his  s  n  u  ff- 
box. 


The  Kobus 


THE  KOBUS  THOMASI  ANTELOPE.  <$ 


thomasi  Ante- 
lope.—  I  have 
shot  only  one 
specimen  of 
this  fine  an- 
telope. I  se- 
cured it  on  the 


ANTELOPES 


267 


one  amongst  them  which  had  horns.  I  decided  to  stalk  it, 
a  comparatively  easy  matter,  owing  to  the  scattered  shrubs. 
I  got  to  within  120  yards  of  it;  but  as  the  animal  stood 
facing  me,  I  was  compelled  to  give  it  the  chest-shot,  though 
I  dislike  this  shot  as  it  rarely  bowls  the  animal  over.  We 
found  afterwards,  on  examining  the  body,  that  my  first  shot 
did  enter  the  chest,  but  was  deflected  to  the  left  by  the 
breast-bone ;  it  penetrated  sufficiently  far  to  disable  the  left 
fore-leg.  1  fired  two  more  shots  at  the  animal  as  it  galloped 
off,  but  missed  both  times.  Fortunately,  owing  to  the  wound, 
it  had  soon  to  stop ;  and  I  was  able  to  stalk  up  to  eighty 
yards  and  give  it  the  shoulder-shot.  It  managed,  however, 
to  leap  away  and  disappeared  behind  some  ant-hills.  When 
we  got  to  the  ant-hills,  not  a  trace  of  the  antelope  could 
we  see  far  or  near ;  but  a  diligent  search  in  the  grass  showed 
us  the  animal  lying  dead.  On  cutting  it  up,  we  found  that 
the  second  bullet  had  gone  clean  through  the  heart ;  and  yet 
the  animal  was  able  to*  give  a  dozen  or  more  bounds  before 
it  fell  dead.  This  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  by  its  being 
hit  when  in  full  gallop. 

It  is  of  the  size  of  a  large  stag.  The  two  white  patches 
round  the  eyes  and  the  white  patches  on  the  upper  lip  are 
very  distinctive.  The  abdomen  is  also  white  ;  the  rest  of  the 
body  is  a  tan,  with  the  exception  of  a  black  patch  at  the  knees, 
and  a  black  line  running  from  the  knees  down  the  front  of  the 
leg.  The  Waganda  call  it  the  Sunu  or  Nsunu.  The  horns 
start  close  together  upward,  then  they  diverge  outwards  and 
backwards  ;  curving  round,  they  converge  inwards  and  back- 
wards, then  a  second  bend  occurs  and  the  horns  terminate 
curving  forwards.  The  horns  are  "  ringed,"  with  the  exception 
of  the  last  three  or  four  inches,  which  are  smooth  and  ter- 
minate in  a  sharp  point. 

The  Nswallah. — This  is  a  favourite  word  with  the  Swahilies  to 
designate  any  antelope  or  gazelle  larger  than  a  pah  or  smaller 
than  a  kongoni.  It  is  a  very  convenient  word  wherewith  to 
cloak  ignorance  ;  and  as  I  am  not  certain  to  which  particular 
species  the  antelope  shown  in  the  illustration  belongs,  I  cannot 
do  better  than  give  it  the  Swahili  name.  It  was  a  female  without 
horns,  and  this  makes  it  doubly  difficult  to  classify  it.  A  shot 
through  the  back  at  two  hundred  yards  laid  it  low,  practically  in 
sight  of  the  camp,  and  two  Soudanese  ;soldiers  at  once  hurried 


268 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


off  to  fetch  it.  I  came  across  several  more  of  the  same  sort  in 
Singo,  where  I  shot  this  one.  It  frequents  grassy  plains  dotted 
with  shrubs  or  bush.  It  is  found  either  solitary  or  with  a 
companion,  probably  a  young  one.  I  have  never  seen  it  in 
herds  ;  and  I  unfortunately  failed  to  come  across  one  with  horns. 
It  had  a  white  abdomen  and  a  bushy  tuft  to  its  tail,  which  was 

also  white  on 
the  under 
surface.  The 
general  colour 
is  a  soft  dark 
brown  with  a 
darker  patch 
on  the  fore- 
head. 

The  Hai'te- 
beest  Antelope. 
—  There  are 
two  species 
of  hartebeest 
met  with  on 
the  journey 
to  Uganda, 
though  there 
are  several 
more  in  other 

THE  NSW  ALLAH  ANTELOPE.      ?  parts  of  Africa. 

The  species 

found  along  the  caravan  route  through  British  East  Africa  is 
the  Cokei,  which  also  reaches  for  some  distance  into  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  and  is  then  replaced  by  the  Jacksoni,  which 
stretches  right  up  to  the  north  of  Unyoro.  It  is  sometimes 
seen  alone,  but,  as  a  rule,  it  is  found  in  small  herds.  Near  the 
Mto-ya-Mawe  (or  Stony  River),  between  Muani  and  Campi-ya- 
Simba,  I  saw,  on  my  last  journey,  a  huge  herd  which  must  have 
numbered  several  hundreds.  The  hunter  soon  finds  out,  that  it 
is  easier  to  shoot  a  solitary  individual  than  one  in  a  herd. 

The  hartebeest  has  rather  an  ungainly  appearance,  as  the 
hind  part  of  the  body  droops.  When  it  gallops,  it  looks  as  if 
it  were  limping,  especially  as  the  head  bobs  up  and  down  with 
the  motion.     It  misleads  the  inexperienced  who  imagine  they 


ANTELOPES 


269 


have  wounded  the  animal.  In  spite  of  this  halting  movement 
it  gallops  very  swiftly,  and  soon  out-distances  pursuit.  Gene- 
rally, one  sentinel  looks  after  the  safety  of  the  herd,  but  the 
others  are  not  indifferent  as  to  their  common  security,  and 
their  keen  senses  soon  apprise  them  of  approaching  danger. 
They  often  fall  a  victim  to  their  curiosity.  After  the  animal 
has  galloped  a  certain  distance,  it  will  stop  and  climb  the 
highest  white-ant  hillock  in  order  to  satisfy  this  craving  to 
know  the  actual  whereabouts  of  the  pursuer.  I  have  found  it 
a  good  plan,  when  stalking  hartebeest,  to  run  after  it  whilst  it 
is  running,  and  to  drop  flat  on  the  ground  the  moment  it  stops 
to  reconnoitre.  If  there  is  sufficient  cover,  I  then  proceed  to 
stalk  it  by  crawling  nearer  to  it  under  cover  of  the  grass  and 
shrubs.  If  there  is  absolutely  no  cover,  I  remain  motionless, 
and  then  it  is  a  struggle  of  patience  between  hunter  and  game. 
As  a  rule,  the  hunter  has  not  sufficient  time  or  patience,  and 
the  moment  he  moves  the  hartebeest  bolts. 

Young  ones  are  'occasionally  run  down  by  natives,  and 
brought  to  the  station  alive  and  sold  for  a  trifle  ;  but  hitherto 
the  hartebeest  has  proved  very  different  to  the  Thomsonii  in 
captivity.  Thomsonii  can  be  reared  with,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, no  trouble  at  all ;  but  the  hartebeests  until  now,  in  spite 
of  the  utmost  care  and  attention,  have  not  proved  in  up-country 
stations  successful  in  captivity — they  have  always  died  young. 
The  last  time  I  passed  the  Eldoma  Ravine  Station,  a  young 
hartebeest  was  running  about  in  the  inner  court.  It  was  being 
fed  on  cow's  milk  from  a  bottle.  A  piece  of  calico,  punctured 
with  a  number  of  holes,  was  tied  so  as  to  form  an  elongated 
and  soft  mouthpiece,  which  the  young  one  could  take  into  its 
mouth.  The  allowance  was  a  bottle  in  the  morning  and 
another  towards  dusk.  The  young  one  seemed  to  appreciate  its 
food  ;  for  if  the  boy  who  fed  it  was  not  up  to  time,  it  would 
impatiently  follow  him  about.  On  one  occasion,  when  we  ex- 
perimented, it  followed,  though  with  evident  reluctance  and 
hesitation,  right  up  the  steps  and  into  a  private  sitting-room. 

A  young  water-buck  was  at  the  Ravine  Station  at  the  same 
time,  and  its  graceful  form,  notwithstanding  its  shaggy  coat, 
formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the  ungainly  and  inelegant  young 
hartebeest.  Both  young  antelopes  were  exceedingly  tame. 
The  young  water-buck  would  coolly  walk  up  to  my  tent, 
which  had  been  pitched  in  the  inner  court,  and  help  itself  to 


270 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


water  out  of  the  pail  or  basin.  But  when  it  began  to  consider 
that  my  tent-ropes  were  meant  for  the  purpose  that  some  one 
is  said  to  have  blessed  the  Duke  of  Argyle  for  in  the  case  of 
the  new  milestones,  namely,  to  scratch  the  back  against,  I  began 
to  consider  the  water-buck's  affection  for  my  tent  as  rather  a 
nuisance. 

The  head  of  the  Jacksoni  is  anything  but  handsome.  It  is 
elongated,  and  narrows  to  almost  a  blunt  point  at  the  muzzle. 
From  the  forehead  rises  a  bony  protuberance,  covered  for  two  or 
three  inches  by  the  skin.  Upon  this  bony  elevation  are  perched 
the  two  horns.  Their  direction  is  at  first  outward  and  backward, 
then  comes  a  rather  sharp  bend,  and  they  proceed  forward  and 
almost  parallel  with  each  other  ;  then  occurs  another  sharp  bend, 
and  the  horns  point  backwards  and  slightly  outwards.  The  first 
portion  of  the  horn  is  stumpy,  thick,  and  somewhat  rugose  ;  the 
middle  portion,  between  the  two  bends,  is  "ringed"};  the  ter- 
minal backward  portion  is  smooth  for  the  last  six  or  seven  inches, 
and  ends  in  a  sharp  point. 

My  first  specimen  of  Jacksoni  I  shot  at  the  Eldoma  Ravine 
on  the  first  journey.  I  saw  a  small  herd  of  about  four  or 
five,  and  I  fired  at  150  to  200  yards.  I  was  using  my  Martini- 
Henri  rifle,  and  there  was  such  a  cloud  of  smoke  that  it  was 
impossible  at  the  moment  to  see  what  had  happened.  As 
the  smoke  cleared,  I  noticed  that  the  herd  had  not  disappeared 
as  I  had  expected,  but  were  in  evident  hesitation.  I  fired  hur- 
riedly a  couple  more  shots,  which  missed.  Walking  leisurely 
up  to  the  spot,  I  was  pleasantly  surprised  to  find  that  my  first 
bullet  had  hit,  for  a  kongoni,  as  hartebeest  are  called  by  the 
Swahili,  lay  expiring.  I  sent  the  horns  to  the  coast  to  be  for- 
warded to  England,  but,  like  many  of  my  other  shooting  speci- 
mens, they  never  reached  home.  It  does  happen,  that  specimens 
arrive  at  the  coast  without  any  vestige  of  address  remaining,  and 
after  some  time  such  are  sold  as  unclaimed  goods  ;  but  it  is 
annoying,  when  they  miscarry  after  every  precaution  has  been 
taken  to  ensure  their  reaching  safely  their  destination.  After  a 
while  the  traveller  ceases  to  look  upon  these  mishaps  as  annoy- 
ances, and  he  rather  congratulates  himself  when  things  he  has 
sent  do  reach  safely  his  home  or  his  friends. 

My  second  Jacksoni  gave  me  a  deal  of  trouble.  It  was  in  the 
uninhabited  region  between  the  Ravine  and  the  Kavirondo.  My 
first  shot  wounded  the  animal  badly,  but  when  we  went  to  look 


ANTELOPES 


271 


for  it  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  we  saw  it  galloping  off  in  the  dis- 
tance, leaving  a  broad  blood-spoor  on  the  grass.  This  incited 
us  to  follow,  as  from  time  to  time  the  animal  lay  down  ;  but  for 
a  long  time  I  never  could  get  within  half  a  mile  of  it.  During 
the  pursuit  we  suddenly  came  upon  a  splendid  buffalo,  the  first 
and  only  one  I  have  ever  come  across.  I  used  my  Lee-Speed, 
as  it  was  rather  far  off,  and  I  presume  I  missed,  for  my  subse- 
quent shots  only  accelerated  its  flight.  I  had  always  heard,  that 
a  buffalo  invariably  attacks  its  aggressor,  but  this  is  evidently  not 
the  case.  I  confess  I  hesitated  at  first  to  risk  an  attack  from  the 
huge  creature,  but  I  trusted  to  having  my  magazine-rifle,  which 
enables  me  to  have  eleven  shots  running  without  re-loading, 
since  by  a  simple  movement  the  empty  cartridge  is  automatically 
extracted  and  replaced  by  a  loaded  one  from  the  attached 
magazine.  I  speculated  that,  as  the  attacking  animal  came  closer, 
my  chances  of  hitting*  it  would  be  increased.  But  with  further 
experience  I  am  not  so  sure,  that  I  should  like  to  trust  to  a  Lee- 
Metford  bullet  having  sufficient  stopping  power  to  arrest  the 
rush  of  an  enemy,  man  or  beast,  though  mortally  wounded. 
The  buffalo  might  still  have  had  enough  life  left  to  toss  and  gore 
me,  even  though  its  minutes  were  numbered,  and  it  should  sink 
down  dead  afterwards. 

When  I  succeeded  in  coming  up  with  the  exhausted  harte- 
beest,  I  gave  it  a  bullet  from  my  Lee-Speed  rifle  at  close 
quarters.  It  jumped  over  a  grassy  elevation,  and  when  we 
had  climbed  this,  we  saw  a  hartebeest  slowly  galloping  off 
at  a  distance.  Thinking  this  was  the  wounded  one,  as  it  had 
already  shown  such  marvellous  powers  of  endurance,  we  were 
following  for  a  while,  when  I  felt  convinced  that  it  must  be 
another  hartebeest,  and  that  consequently  the  wounded  one 
must  be  lying  dead  somewhere.  The  only  way  to  ascertain  this, 
was  for  us  to  retrace  our  steps  to  the  last  spot,  where  we  had 
seen  the  wounded  one,  and  from  there  to  track  it.  This  we 
did,  and  thus  we  came  upon  it,  lying  dead  in  the  grass,  and 
completely  hidden  from  us  even  within  five  feet  of  it. 

My  third  Jacksoni  1  got  to  the  south  of  the  Ravine.  The 
fourth  Jacksoni  I  shot  in  Singo.  Whilst  the  alarmed  animals 
were  rushing  across  a  swamp,  I  ran  in  pursuit,  and  I  dropped 
on  my  knees,  when  the  herd  paused  on  the  other  side  of  the 
swamp  to  look  round.  I  was  obliged  to  give  the  chest-shot, 
as  the  nearest  animal  was  one  which   faced  me.     I  found 


272  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


afterwards,  that  the  Martini  bullet  had  hit,  and  had  been 
deflected  to  one  side  under  the  skin,  where  we  felt  it  and 
cut  it  out.  Owing  to  the  scattered  bush,  it  was  difficult  to 
follow  the  animal,  but  in  the  end  we  succeeded  in  securing  it, 
though  it  required  several  more  bullets. 

The  Cokei  Hartebeest. — It  has  quite  different  horns  to  the  Jack- 
soni.  This  is  due  to  a  slight  difference  in  direction  where  the 
two  bends  occur.  Instead  of  curving,  as  in  the  Jacksoni,  almost 
straight  forward  at  the  first  bend,  the  curve  in  the  Cokei  is  to  the 
side.  This  gives  a  wider  stretch  between  the  horns.  Then  again 
at  the  second  bend,  instead  of  pointing  straight  behind,  the  horns 
of  the  Cokei  point  almost  straight  up.  In  other  respects,  even 
including  the  perch  on  the  bony  skin-covered  protuberance,  the 
Jacksoni  and  Cokei  horns  resemble  each  other.  There  are  slight 
but  interesting  variations  among  the  Cokei  horns  themselves  ;  in 
some  the  terminal  points  are  directed  backward,  in  others  in- 
ward, instead  of  the  more  common  direction  of  upward. 

The  first  antelope  I  ever  shot  was  a  Cokei  hartebeest,  and 
I  am  not  likely  to  forget  the  danger  I  unconsciously  exposed 
myself  to  on  that  day.  We  had  got  to  that  part  of  the  Kiboko 
river,  which  lies  on  the  old  route.  I  was  near  the  head  of  the 
caravan  with  another  European.  The  caravan  stopped,  and  I 
was  told  we  were  going  to  pitch  the  camp  there.  My  companion 
had  already  gone  off  to  stalk  some  hartebeest  seen  in  the  distance. 
I  thought  I  might  as  well  do  the  same,  and  I  took  a  slightly 
different  direction.  My  companion  returned  to  the  camp  without 
firing  a  shot.  I  fired  at  400  yards.  I  did  not  know  whether  I 
had  hit,  but  on  going  to  examine  the  place,  my  boy  pointed  out 
to  me  some  drops  of  blood. 

We  two,  my  boy  and  I,  went  in  pursuit,  and,  after  a  fatiguing 
chase,  we  came,  more  by  good  luck  than  skill,  upon  the  wounded 
animal  which  had  not  been  able  to  keep  up  with  the  herd.  I 
succeeded  in  rolling  it  over.  My  boy  cut  its  throat ;  for  though 
it  was  quite  dead,  no  devout  Mahommedan  will  eat  the  flesh 
of  an  animal  which  has  not  had  its  throat  cut,  nor  will  he  eat 
it  unless  it  is  cut  by  a  Mahommedan.  According  to  Koran 
teaching,  the  Mahommedan  should  not  eat  the  flesh,  unless  the 
throat  was  cut  when  the  animal  was  still  alive  ;  but  this  part 
he  discreetly  ignores,  especially  when  on  caravan  journeys,  as 
it  would  make  his  limited  chances  of  getting  meat  practically 
nil.    Having  cut  the  animal's  throat  and  satisfied  his  conscience, 


ANTELOPES 


273 


my  boy  divested  himself  of  his  water-bottle,  which  we  had 
emptied,  and  we  followed  a  zebra  which  I  had  also  wounded. 
Though  we  got  very  near  the  zebra,  in  fact  within  fifty  yards 
of  it,  I  found  that  my  remaining  five  cartridges  were  useless, 
as  they  would  not  fit  the  rifle.  As  neither  of  us  felt  inclined 
to  attack  the  zebra  with  a  knife,  for  it  can  give  quite  as  bad  a 
bite  as  any  horse,  we  retraced  our  steps. 

Hitherto  1  had  placed  the  utmost  reliance  on  a  native  finding 
his  way  about  by  a  sort  of  instinct.  I  was  therefore  taken 
aback,  when  my  boy  could  not  discover,  where  the  dead  harte- 
beest  lay.  I  began  to  be  anxious  about  our  finding  our  way 
back  to  camp,  when  I  noticed  some  birds  at  a  distance  alighting 
on  the  grass.  My  boy  promptly  pronounced  them  to  be  guinea- 
fowls,  but  I  felt  convinced  they  must  be  gigantic  guinea- 
fowls,  to  be  seen  at  that  distance.  Then  the  thought  flashed 
through  my  brain,  that  they  might  be  vultures  at  my  harte- 
beest.  This  proved  to  be  the  case,  and  they  had  already 
pecked  out  one  of  the  eyes,  devoured  half  the  tongue,  ripped 
open  the  abdomen,  and  polished  off  most  of  the  entrails. 
The  empty  water-bottle  however  assured  us  that  it  was  the 
hartebeest  which  I  had  shot. 

My  confidence  in  the  native  topographical  instinct  was 
restored,  by  seeing  that  we  were  after  all  so  near  the  dead 
antelope,  though  we  had  discovered  it  by  an  accident.  As  we 
were  both  under  the  impression,  that  the  camp  was  pretty 
near,  perhaps  at  the  utmost  half-an-hour  off,  we  held  a  short 
consultation,  and  decided  that  he  should  hurry  back  to  the 
camp  with  the  hartebeest's  head  and  horns,  in  order  to  guide 
a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  carry  the  meat  to  the  camp. 
I  was  to  remain  on  guard,  lest  vultures  or  hyaenas  should 
quite  devour  the  carcass.  As  my  rifle  was  useless,  except 
that  in  an  emergency  I  could  use  it  as  a  club,  I  told  the  boy 
to  leave  me  the  kitchen-knife  which,  in  the  hurry  of  starting 
from  camp,  he  had  taken  with  him  instead  of  my  hunting- 
knife.    The  boy  went,  and  I  was  left  alone. 

The  broiling  sun  drove  me  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the  meagre 
shadow  cast  by  a  thorn-tree,  while  the  vultures,  a  score  or  more, 
perched  patiently  a  few  yards  off.  At  last  the  amount  of  shade 
barely  sufficed  to  cover  my  head,  while  I  lay  stretched  at  full 
length  on  the  ground.  The  vultures  seemed  to  know  to  a 
nicety,  how  long  I  remained  awake.    Not  one  of  them  ventured 

s 


274  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


near,  to  my  knowledge.  Then  the  heat  and  fatigue  overpowered 
me.    I  fell  fast  asleep. 

Some  sense  of  approaching  danger,  curiously  enough,  must 
have  entered  into  my  dreams.  I  awoke  with  a  start,  looking 
for  the  enemy.  So  sure  was  I,  that  I  was  not  surprised  to  see 
some  naked  savages  approaching  swiftly  and  silently  in  the  dis- 
tance. They  had  not  noticed  me,  being  attracted  by  the  dead 
hartebeest  which  was  being  devoured  by  scores  of  vultures. 
The  savages  were  well  armed  ;  they  carried  bows  and  arrows 
and  long  knives.  I  certainly  thought  my  fate  was  sealed.  It 
seemed  the  best  thing  to  play  up  bravely,  if  the  worst  was  to 
happen.  I  jumped  up  and  shouted,  attracting  at  once  their 
attention.  I  waved  my  rifle,  slapped  the  barrel,  pointed  triumph- 
antly to  the  dead  hartebeest,  and  beckoned  to  them  to  hurry  up. 
I  could  see  they  hesitated.  This  made  me  more  friendly  and 
pressing  in  my  invitation  to  them  to  join  me. 

When  they  had  grasped  the  fact,  that  I  did  not  intend  to 
harm  them,  they  cautiously  drew  nearer.  After  a  long  parley, 
carried  on  in  gesture-dialogue,  I  got  them  to  cut  up  the  meat 
and  to  load  themselves  with  it.  The  vultures,  while  I  slept, 
had  devoured  heart,  lungs,  and  liver,  and  picked  the  bones  of 
one  hind-quarter  perfectly  clean.  I  am  sure,  they  would  have 
polished  off  the  whole  hartebeest  at  one  sitting,  if  left  un- 
disturbed. I  never  saw  again  such  a  variety  of  vultures  and 
other  carnivorous  birds.  While  the  savages  were  cutting  up 
the  meat,  I  kept  reminding  them  of  the  presence  of  my  rifle. 
I  could  not  divest  my  mind  entirely  of  all  fear  of  foul  play 
on  their  part.  This  made  me  display  my  handful  of  five  useless 
cartridges,  and  flourish  the  kitchen-knife  in  my  right  hand. 
Fear  of  losing  my  life  and  determination  to  sell  it  dearly  were 
struggling  for  mastery. 

When  they  had  shouldered  the  meat,  I  insisted  on  their 
walking  in  single  file  in  front  of  me.  They  evidently  disliked 
this  arrangement,  being  as  much  afraid  of  me,  as  I  was  of 
them.  But,  when  I  urged  them  to  take  notice  of  rifle  and 
kitchen-knife,  they  reluctantly  complied.  Unfortunately  I  had 
not  the  least  idea  in  what  direction  my  camp  lay.  I  saw 
that  they  wanted  to  take  a  direction  almost  opposite  to  the 
one  my  boy  had  taken.  Of  course  I  protested  in  dumb-show, 
and  pointed  out  what  I  imagined  to  be  the  right  one.  They 
jabbered  noisily,  shook  their  heads,  and  pointed  in  the  direc- 


ANTELOPES 


275 


tion  they  wanted  to  take.  1  let  them  finally  have  their  own 
choice.  We  walked  for  fully  an  hour.  Then  we  steered 
for  a  large  tree,  where  a  crowd  of  similarly  armed  savages 
awaited  us. 

Here  my  first  set  of  savages  threw  down  their  burdens  of 
meat,  squatted  down,  and  entered  into  a  noisy  palaver  with 
their  comrades.  I  waited  patiently  for  a  while.  Then,  as  no 
one  seemed  willing  to  make  a  move  to  accompany  me  a  step 
farther,  I  decided  to  take  the  initiative  by  renewing  our  pan- 
tomime gesture-dialogue,  which  had  proved  successful  so  far. 
I  confess  I  was  not  at  all  sure  but  that  the  savages  had  already 
taken  me  miles  and  miles  away  from  the  caravan  route.  They 
might,  for  all  I  knew, -be  waiting  to  take  me  to  one  of  their 
distant  villages,  and  to  disarm  me  whenever  I  fell  asleep. 
How  I  blamed  my  stupidity  in  permitting  my  servant  to  leave 
me  !  What  solemn  resolutions  I  formed,  as  we  probably  all 
do  when  we  realise  the  feebleness  of  our  unaided  intellect,  if 
it  should  please  Providence  to  help  me  safely  out  of  this  scrape  ! 
I  felt  convinced,  that  any  sign  of  fear  might  end  in  my  ruin.  I 
approached  the  savage  who  was  evidently  the  leader. 

He  remained  sitting.  Silent  and  sullen  he  only  stared  at  me. 
I  slapped  him  patronisingly  on  the  shoulder.  I  professed  to  be 
most  anxious  to  explain  to  him  the  mysteries  of  the  deadly  rifle. 
I  even  showed  him  how  I  took  aim.  This  manoeuvre  led  to  the 
younger  savages  making  a  precipitate  movement  to  the  side  to 
get  out  of  the  line  of  aim.  But  the  old  sullen  rascal  remained 
unmoved.  WThen  I  had  done  enough  of  this  dumb-crambo 
business,  slapping  his  shoulder  and  occasionally  shaking  him 
up,  I  assumed  an  authoritative  tone,  and  hoisted  one  of  the 
loads  of  meat  on  to  his  shoulders.  This  made  him  budge  ; 
and  as  he  pointed  out  a  younger  man  sitting  near  to  him, 
1  soon  had  all  the  meat  shouldered  again.  Then  we  moved 
off  in  single  file,  leaving  the  other  savages  squatting  under 
the  tree. 

In  about  two  hours  we  came  upon  my  hartebeest's  head. 
I  heard  afterwards  that  my  boy,  having  lost  his  way,  be- 
came tired  and  nervous,  and  then  chucked  away  the  trophy. 
My  friendlies,  for  at  last  I  felt  convinced  that  my  savages 
were  dealing  honestly  with  me,  lifted  up  the  hartebeest  head 
and  carried  it  along.  The  sun  was  getting  low,  when  we 
entered  the  caravan  road.    Then  my  boy  met  us.    He  was 


276  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


accompanied  by  two  or  three  of  our  caravan  porters,  and  he 
brought  my  riding-donkey.  My  friendlies  carried  the  meat  right 
into  camp  for  me,  where  I  shared  it  with  them,  they  grinning 
with  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 

Though  this  little  adventure  had  ended  happily  and  now 
looked  rather  comic,  I  took  the  lesson  to  heart  not  to  risk 
losing  myself  again  in  a  wild  jungle,  with  neither  water  nor 
fire  within  available  distance,  without  a  companion,  and  prac- 
tically unarmed.  Our  caravan  leader  assured  me  I  was  lucky 
in  falling  in  with  friendly  Wakamba,  and  that  I  should  never 
have  returned,  if  I  had  met  a  band  of  Masai  on  the  war-path. 
That  he  was  in  the  right,  and  that  these  adventures  do  not 
always  have  a  happy  ending,  was  proved  within  a  few  months 
on  this  very  spot.  Dr.  Chartres,  the  Mission  doctor  at  Kibwezi, 
went  with  a  friend,  Mr.  Colquhoun,  for  a  day's  shooting  to 
this  very  neighbourhood. 

These  two  men  were  never  seen  again.  According  to  the 
servants  who  accompanied  them,  as  soon  as  the  tents  were 
pitched,  the  two  white  men,  followed  by  a  gun-bearer,  stalked 
some  antelopes,  wounded  one  and  followed  it.  The  gun- 
bearer  returned  to  the  camp  and  said,  that  he  had  lost  sight  of 
the  "musungu"  (the  white  men).  As  he  had  not  succeeded 
in  finding  them,  he  had  decided  to  go  back  to  the  camp. 
Hour  after  hour  passed,  and  neither  of  the  white  men  turned 
up.  The  camp  got  alarmed.  Everybody  went  to  search  the 
bush,  calling  and  shouting.  Not  a  trace  could  be  found.  Night 
rendered  further  search  useless.  Next  morning  the  search  was 
resumed  and  kept  up  for  some  days.  Not  the  slightest  clue  was 
forthcoming.  The  servants  returned  to  the  Mission  Station  and 
reported  the  disaster. 

It  is  not  likely  that  these  two  unfortunate  white  men  were 
killed  by  lions.  The  lions  would  have  devoured  them  on  the 
spot,  and  the  rifles  would  have  been  found.  Dr.  Chartres 
knew  the  neighbourhood  thoroughly,  it  is  therefore  improbable 
that  they  lost  themselves.  It  is  believed,  that  they  were  met 
by  hostile  savages,  probably  Masai  on  the  warpath,  and  were 
captured  and  killed. 

On  my  first  journey  to  Uganda,  we  had  a  major  as  caravan 
leader.  On  my  subsequent  five  journeys  I  was  in  charge  of 
the  caravan.  In  the  event  of  my  not  turning  up  before  dusk, 
our  caravan  leader  had  already  decided  to  leave  one  European 


ANTELOPES 


277 


with  some  porters  at  the  camp  to  wait  a  day  or  two  and  to 
search  for  me.  The  bulk  of  the  caravan,  some  four  hundred 
men,  could  not  of  course  be  delaved,  as  the  food  question  is  a 
serious  one  in  a  wilderness.  It  turned  out,  that  the  caravan, 
instead  of  camping  where  we  had  halted  in  the  morning  and 
were  supposed  to  camp,  had  moved  off  two  hours  farther  on. 
When  I  arrived  at  our  camp,  I  got  of  course  a  wigging  for 
having  left,  as  I  was  supposed  to  have  done,  a  caravan  on 
the  march  ;  but  I  was  able  to  explain,  that  I  should  not  have 


Neumann's  steinbok.  6 


left  but  for  the  misleading  assurance  of  the  headman,  that  we 
had  reached  our  destination.  In  fact,  the  caravan  would  have 
camped,  where  I  had  started  from,  but  that  owing  to  the 
drought  there  was  no  water  to  be  had  till  the  Kiboko  river  was 
reached. 

Neumann  s  Steinbok. — On  my  sixth  journey  I  shot  two  small 
antelopes,  one  at  the  Molo  river,  the  other  at  the  Kiboko  river, 
the  first  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  the  second  in  the  British 
East  Africa  Protectorate.  Both  were  males.  The  females  of 
this  species  have  no  horns.  I  was  puzzled  to  know  to  which  of 
the  small  species  of  antelopes  my  specimens  belonged.  I  sub- 
mitted them  to  Mr.  Oldfield  Thomas,  the  authority  on  antelopes 


278 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


at  the  South  Kensington  Natural  History  Museum.  He  was 
interested,  because  the  Museum  had  not  yet  one  specimen  of 
the  sort  in  its  vast  collection.  Mr.  Thomas  considered  mine  to 
belong  to  a  new  species  quite  recently  added  to  science  by 
the  German  traveller  and  naturalist  in  whose  honour  it  has  been 
named  Neumanni.  But  there  appears  to  be  a  slight  difference 
which  places  my  two  specimens  as  a  sort  of  connecting-link 
between  the  South  African  steinbok  and  Neumann's.  The 
South  African  species  has  a  black  patch  on  the  nose  and  a  black 
horse-shoe  patch  on  the  forehead.  Neumann's  has  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other.  My  two  specimens  do  not  have  the  black 
horse-shoe  patch,  but  they  both  have  the  black  patch  on  the 
nose.  Mr.  Thomas  places,  therefore,  my  specimens  amongst 
the  Neumanni,  as  they  are  nearest  to  the  specimen  described 
as  Neumanni.  This  antelope  has  tiny  horns,  somewhat  rugose. 
The  general  colour  is  a  rich  brown.  It  frequents  bush-covered 
districts  in  the  neighbourhood  of  water.  It  is  either  solitary  or 
in  companionship  with  one  or  two  others.  It  is  a  pretty  and 
graceful  animal ;  and  it  can  run  apparently  as  fast  on  three  legs 
as  on  four.  One  specimen  I  bowled  over  with  a  single  shot  ; 
the  other,  in  spite  of  a  broken  hind-leg,  gave  me  some  trouble 
before  1  could  secure  it. 


CHAPTER  XX 


SMALL  MAMMALS. 


M 


Y    interest    in  small 
mammals  was  aroused 
by  my  capturing  one 
B  new  species  of  rodent 

^|  ML  /  at    Mumia's    in    Kavirondo  in 

A  l895- 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  E. 
de  Winton,  F.Z.S.,  for  the 
list  of  names  of  the  specimens 
collected  by  me  in  Uganda 
and  in  British  East  Africa,  and 
to  the  Zoological  Society  of 
London  for  permission  to  use 
their  description  of  the  new 
Lophuromys. 

Two  specimens  ( £  and  $ ) 
of  the  dwarf  mungoose  (Helogale 
undulatd)    I    presented    to  the 
British  Museum  (Natural  His- 
tory) ;  they  were  got  with  one  shot,  as  they  crossed  the  caravan 
road  at  Masongoleni  in  British  East  Africa. 

The  large  ground-squirrel  (Xerus  erythropus)  was  caught  with 
a  noose  in  a  maize-held  at  Masindi  in  Unyoro.  It  is  covered 
with  short  stiff  hairs,  some  of  which  are  as  hard  and  bristly  as 
the  small  quills  of  a  porcupine.  When  running  along  the  ground, 
the  animal  holds  its  tail  horizontal. 

The  small  ground-squirrel  {Xerus  rutilus)  can  frequently  be 
seen  on  the  march,  racing  ahead  along  the  dusty  caravan  road 
on  a  hot  sunny  day.    From  time  to  time  the  animal  pauses  to 


LOPHUROMYS  ANSORGEI. 

{Half  life-size.) 


28o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


sit  up  in  a  pretty  begging  attitude  to  look  around  and  listen,  and 
finally  it  scampers  off  into  the  bush. 

Emin's  striped-squirrel  (Funisciurus  boehmi)  is  very  common 
at  Fajao  in  Unyoro.  It  is  a  small  green  animal,  with  three 
horizontal  black  stripes  along  the  body  from  the  neck  to  the 
tail.  Where  the  trees  were  close  together,  I  have  seen  it  jump 
from  tree  to  tree  ;  but  if  the  branches  happened  to  be  rather 
far  apart,  it  ran  down  the  trunk  of  the  tree  as  easily  as  if  it 
were  on  level  ground,  and  hurrying  on  to  the  next  tree,  it  ran 
up  with  equal  ease  and  rapidity,  however  vertical  and  high  the 
tree  might  be. 

The  ochre-footed  scrub-squirrel  (Funisciurus  genand)  is  pretty 
often  met  with,  rustling  in  the  foliage  of  the  shrubs  and  bushes 
along  the  caravan  road  between  Kinani  and  Kibwezi  in  British 
East  Africa. 

The  bats  were  captured  with  the  butterfly  net,  some  in  the 
open  air  on  bright  moonlight  nights,  some  in  my  hut,  and  some 
in  banana  plantations. 

The  musk-shrews  were  caught  with  a  steel-trap  in  my  hut. 
Other  troublesome  visitors  the  steel-trap  has  rid  me  of,  viz.,  the 
Mus  hildebrandti,  the  Mus  gentiiis}  and  the  Mus  Uganda. 

The  harsh-furred  field-mouse  (Lophuromys  flavopunctatus)  was 
caught  with  the  hand  in  a  field  of  sweet-potatoes  at  Masindi  in 
Unyoro.  The  Lophuromys  ansorgei  and  the  Tachyoryctes  splendens 
were  collected  in  clearing  the  jungle,  where  formerly  had  stood 
a  Kavirondo  village. 

The  tree-rat  was  caught  with  the  hand,  when  a  tall  forest  tree 
was  felled  at  Fajao.  This  rat  has  a  reddish  patch  near  the  nose, 
and  a  similar  mark  near  the  root  of  the  tail. 

The  two  species  of  small  grass-mice  differ  in  colour.  The 
reddish  one  I  got  from  a  bird's  nest  hanging  from  a  bush  ;  the 
young  of  this  species,  however,  are  dark  grey,  for  I  saw  four 
such  in  a  nest  cleverly  constructed  between  the  bananas  of  a 
green  banana-bunch. 

The  striped  field-rat  (Arvicanthus pulchelld)  is  a  pretty  animal 
with  its  zebra  markings.  It  is  very  common  in  the  sweet-potato 
fields  at  Masindi  in  Unyoro.  I  once  came  across  three  young 
ones  in  a  nest  built  in  the  fork  of  a  small  tree.  The  tiny  size  of 
the  markings  gave  them  the  appearance  of  having  spots  instead 
of  stripes. 

The  curious  Heterocephalus  glaber,  or  hairless  rodent  mole,  I 


SMALL  MAMMALS 


281 


shot  in  1896  at  Kinani  in  British  East  Africa.  I  found  it  in  a 
small  sandy  patch,  surrounded  by  scattered  bush  and  thorn- 
trees,  near  the  caravan  route.  Whereas  the  Tachyoryctes  splen- 
denSy  or  bamboo-rat,  was  observed  by  me  in  Kavirondo  to  throw 
up  the  earth  like  a  giant  mole,  and  to  live  in  rich,  cultivated  soil 
overgrown  with  vegetation,  this  Heterocephalus  threw  out  the 
earth  with  its  hind-legs  from  a  small  tunnel,  like  a  rat-hole,  in 
a  sandy,  bare,  and  barren  patch.  The  hairless,  yellowish  skin 
of  the  Heterocephalus  felt  to  the  touch  something  like  a  frog's 
naked  skin.  The  eyes  are  so  small,  that  I  thought  at  first  this 
animal  had  none,  but  they  can  be  seen  by  using  a  magnifying 
glass.  The  animal  is  not  absolutely  hairless,  for  it  has  a  few 
scattered  hairs  on  its  head  and  feet.  To  secure  the  specimen 
I  had  to  shoot  it.  On  presenting  it  to  the  British  Museum 
(Natural  History),  Mr.  Oldfield  Thomas  told  me,  that  the  first 
of  this  species  came  from  Abyssinia,  but  as  nearly  half  a  century 
passed  before  another  was  obtained,  it  was  thought  to  be  rather 
a  freak  of  Nature  than  a  distinct  genus.  In  course  of  time, 
however,  a  similar  animal,  but  belonging  to  a  different  species, 
was  brought  from  Somaliland.  My  specimen,  Mr.  Thomas  tells 
me,  is  interesting  because  it  is  the  first  from  British  territory. 


Bats. 


1.  Epomophorus  minor  (fruit  baf 

2.  Hipposiderus  caffer  .... 

3.  Vesperugo  nanus  .... 

4.  Taphozous  mauritianus .    .  . 

5.  Nycteris  thebaica  


From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

Do.  do. 

Do.  do. 

Do.  do. 
From  Kampala  in  Uganda. 


Musk-Shrews. 


6.  Crocidura  doriana 


Squirrels. 

7.  Funisciurus     genana  (ochre- 

footed  scrub-squirrel)    .    .  . 

8.  Funisciurus     boehmi  (Emin's 

striped-squirrel)  

9.  Xerus  erythropus  (ground-squir- 

rel)   

to.  Xerus  rutilus  (ground-squirrel)  . 


From  Masindi  in  Unyoro,  and 
Kampala  in  Uganda. 


From  Kibwezi  and  Kinani,  in 
British  East  Africa. 

From  Fajao  in  Unyoro. 

From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 
From   Mtoto    Ndei,  British 
East  Africa. 


282 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Gerbil 

11.  Gerbillus  (Tatera)  afer  .     .    .    .       From   Masindi   in  Unyoro, 

and  Mumia's  in  Kavirondo. 

Reed-Mouse. 

12.  Dendromys  mesomelas .    .    .    .       From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

Field- Rats. 

13.  Arvicanthus  abyssinicus    .    .    .       From  Mumia's  in  Kavirondo  ; 

Masindi  in  Unyoro  ;  Kibero, 
on  east  shore  of  Lake  Al- 
bert ;  Mahaji,  on  west  shore 
of  Lake  Albert. 

Striped  Field- Rat. 

14.  Arvicanthus  pulchella    ....       From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

Tree- Rat. 

15.  Mus  hypoxanthus   From  Fajao  in  Unyoro. 

Tree- Mouse. 

16.  Mus  dolichurus   From  Fajao  in  Unyoro. 

House- Rats  and  Mice. 

17.  Mus  hildebrandti   From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

18.  Mus  gentilis   Do.  do. 

19.  Mus  Uganda?   From  Kampala  in  Uganda. 

Small  Grass-Mice. 

20.  Mus  (Leggada)  musculoides  .    .       From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

21.  Mus  (Leggada)  minutoides    .    .  Do.  do. 

Harsh- Furred  Field- M ouse. 

22.  Lophuromys  flavopunctatus  .    .       From  Masindi  in  Unyoro. 

23.  Lophuromys  ansorgei    ....       From  Mumia:s  in  Kavirondo. 


On  a  New  Rodent  of  the  Genus  Lophuromys 
from  British  East  Africa. 

By  W.  E.  de  WINTON,  F.Z.S. 

From  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,  19th  May  1896.) 

In  a  small  series  of  mammals  presented  to  the  national 
collection  by  Dr.  W.  J.  Ansorge,  Medical  Officer  to  Her 
Majesty's  Government  in  Uganda,  who  is  now  home  on  leave, 


SMALL  MAMMALS 


283 


I  find  two  specimens  of  a  very  handsome  mouse  of  the  genus 
LopJiuromys  new  to  science,  which  I  propose  to  name  in  honour 
of  the  collector. 

LopJiuromys  Ansorgei,  sp.n. 

The  whole  of  the  upper  parts  of  the  head  and  body  smooth 
dark  chocolate  colour,  with  no  markings  whatever,  the  under- 
pays uniform  pale  cinnamon,  the  feet  dark  above  and  below, 
the  tail  black-brown,  slightly  greyer  beneath,  especially  basally, 
rather  short  and  thick,  covered  with  hair,  but  not  densely  enough 
to  conceal  the  scales, 'ears  moderate,  rounded,  covered  with  close 
short  hairs. 

On  parting  the  fur  of  the  upper  parts,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
tips  only  of  the  hairs  are  dark,  shading  gradually  into  bright  tan 
at  the  bases  ;  there  is  no  under-fur,  all  the  hairs  are  perfectly 
straight,  of  a  uniform  length,  and  of  very  much  the  consistency 
of  a  stiff  camel's-hair  brush. 

Measurements  taken  from  dried  skin  :  head  and  body  135 
mm.,  tail  49  mm.,  pes  22  mm.,  forearm  and  hand  33  mm. 

Skull  :  greatest  length  33.5  mm.,  greatest  breadth  17  mm., 
basifacial  length  20  mm.,  basicranial  length  10  mm.,  incisive 
foramina — length  6.5  mm.,  breadth  2.8  mm.,  nasals — length  15 
mm.,  breadth  3.5  mm.,  upper  molar  series  5.5  mm.,  lower  molar 
series  5  mm.,  mandibles,  from  condyle  to  incisor  tips,  24  mm. 

Hab.  Mumia's,  Kavirondo,  N.E.  of  Lake  Victoria. 

Type  No.  96.  V.  8.  1,  in  Brit.  Mus. 

The  nearest  ally  of  this  species  is  most  likely  L.  sikapusi  from 
West  Africa,  but  it  is  easily  distinguished  by  its  rather  larger  size 
and  much  darker  and  handsomer  colouring. 

Seen  through  a  lens,  each  hair  is  flattened  like  a  blade  of 
grass,  tapering  abruptly  to  a  sharp  point  at  either  end  ;  some  of 
the  hairs  are  flat,  others  have  the  edges  turned  over  so  that  the 
cross  section  forms  the  segment  of  a  circle.  The  claws  are  long 
and  straight ;  these  and  the  hairy  nose  and  other  peculiarities  of 
the  genus  are  well  described  by  Mr.  F.  W.  True  (Proc.  Nat.  Mus. 
Washington,  1892,  vol.  xv.  p.  460)  in  his  description  of  Mus  aquilus, 
which  no  doubt  should  be  referred  to  this  genus.  I  may  mention 
that  there  is  in  the  British  Museum  a  specimen  which  seems  to 
agree  with  the  description  of  Mus  aquilus ;  this  is  a  smaller 
animal,  freckled  with  light  tips  to  the  hairs,  and  is  otherwise 
very  distinct  from  the  animal  now  under  notice,  but  show7s  that 


284  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Mr.  True's  specimen  was  about  full  grown,  and  that  the  tail  was 
not  materially  shortened  by  the  injury  mentioned. 

Dr.  Ansorge  has  been  hitherto  known  in  connection  with 
zoology  as  a  collector  of  insects,  but  he  gives  me  an  interesting 
account  of  the  accident  which  put  him  in  possession  of  this 
collection  of  mammals  in  1895.  The  site  of  a  long-disused 
village  had  been  purchased  for  the  purpose  of  building  the 
new  Government  Hospital,  and  in  clearing  the  long  grass  and 
scrub  towards  the  centre,  as  the  circle  narrowed  it  was  dis- 
covered that  there  was  a  large  number  of  small  mammals 
enclosed.  It  being  observed  that  there  were  "  rats  of  all 
colours,"  a  selection  of  pairs  of  different  sorts  was  made,  with 
the  result  that  some  ten  or  a  dozen  specimens  were  obtained. 
Dr.  Ansorge  describes  the  Rhizomys  heaving  up  the  ground  like 
giant  moles  ;  many  of  the  new  Lophuromys,  quite  twenty,  were 
left  on  the  ground. 

The  two  specimens  agree  in  every  particular,  and  are  said  to 
be  male  and  female,  but  are  not  labelled. 

Bamboo-Rat. 

24.  Tachyoryctes  splendens    .    .    .       From  Mumia's  in  Kavirondo. 

Hairless  Rodent  Mole. 

25.  Heterocephalus  glaber  .    .    .    .       In  1896  from  Kinani  in  British 

East  Africa. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


REPTILES. 

Frogs. — There  can  be  little  doubt  that  an  interesting  collection 
of  frogs  could  be  obtained  in  Uganda  and  on  the  march  up- 
country.  The  difficulty  of  making  such  a  collection  lies  in  the 
necessity  of  having  to  provide  oneself  with  a  good  supply  of 
the  indispensable  methylated  spirits  and  pure  alcohol,  and 
suitable  stoppered  glass  jars.  Once  only,  it  was  on  my  third 
journey,  did  I  take  some  methylated  spirits  with  me.  I  was 
promptly  relieved  of  it,  on  the  third  day's  march  from  Mom- 
basa, by  the  professional  thief  who,  having  enlisted  as  a 
caravan  porter,  absconded  with  his  load.  On  my  first  journey 
— we  were  camped  at  the  famous  water-holes  in  the  Taru 
desert — I  caught  a  greyish  white  frog  in  one  of  the  small 
water-holes,  and  I  was  tempted  to  bottle  it,  sacrificing  some 
of  my  brandy  to  preserve  it  in.  This  specimen  has  since 
found  its  way  to  the  Natural  History  Collection  at  South 
Kensington.  On  my  fifth  journey  I  was  tempted  once  more 
to  secure  the  specimen  I  saw.  This  time  it  was  a  bright-red 
frog,  noticed  by  me  in  the  slushy  caravan  road  near  Mason- 
goleni,  when  incessant  and  depressing  daily  rains  kept  my 
eyes  directed  to  the  ground.  The  following  day  I  found 
with  regret,  that  the  brilliant  red  colour  had  disappeared 
under  the  action  of  the  spirits,  and  had  been  replaced  by 
a  dingy  grey,  whereupon  in  disgust  I  threw  the  specimen 
away.  I  am  sorry  for  it  now,  as  I  have  not  found  anything 
like  it  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  I  may  have  thrown 
away  a  very  interesting  novelty. 

My  third  and  last  attempt  was  to  bring  to  the  coast  a  very 
tiny  little  grass-frog  from  Kavirondo.  This  little  creature  was 
sitting  snugly  on  some  tall  blades  of  grass.    In  colour  it  was 

almost  white,  in  size  about  half  an  inch.    Owing  to  the  white, 

285 


286 


UNDER  THE   AFRICAN  SUN 


purple,  and  yellow  flowers  scattered  among  the  grass,  it  might 
be  easily  overlooked.  Swahilies  say  this  little  frog  poisons  cattle. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  cattle  out  grazing  may  swallow  some 
of  them.  As  Nature  did  not  intend  that  cows  should  devour 
frogs,  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  gastric  irritation  may  be 
set  up  by  the  unnatural  food,  and  in  severe  cases  may  pro- 
duce death.  These  little  frogs  are  very  numerous  in  certain 
localities  ;  hundreds  could  have  been  collected  easily.  A  few 
days  later  I  happened  to  look  at  the  pickle-jar  which  con- 
tained my  specimen.  I  found  the  spirits  had  been  upset,  and 
the  specimen,  dried  up  and  spoiled,  had  to  be  thrown  away. 
But  the  remarkable  differences  which  exist  among  frogs  in 
colour,  size,  shape,  and  habits,  and  which  I,  with  an  unin- 
terested eye,  have  noticed,  convinces  me  that  any  one,  willing 
to  devote  some  spare  moments  to  this  particular  subject,  would 
find  it  well  worth  his  while. 

Chameleons. — Among  the  many  interesting  objects  the  tra- 
veller meets  with,  the  chameleon  deserves  mention.  If  for 
nothing  else,  the  ludicrous  mobility  of  its  eyes  must  arrest  one's 
attention.  The  chameleon  has  a  perpetual  stiff  neck,  the  apo- 
plectic shortness  of  which  prevents  the  head  being  turned. 
Kindly  Nature  has,  however,  provided  abundant  compensation, 
by  enabling  the  chameleon  to  look  behind  without  having  the 
trouble  of  turning  round,  and  to  look  straight  up  without  having 
to  move  the  head. 

To  watch  the  eye  of  the  chameleon  gaze  upward,  then 
straight  behind,  now  downwards,  now  forwards,  is  sufficiently 
amusing  ;  but  when  the  two  eyes  are  seen  to  have  the  power 
of  moving  perfectly  independently  of  each  other,  one  eye 
staring  stonily  backward,  and  the  other  eye  fixed  in  heavenly 
rapture  upward,  and  after  various  other  squinting  gymnastics, 
both  eyes  suddenly  shoot  back  and  assume  a  normal  position  ; 
then  the  effect  is  decidedly  laughable.  In  squinting  human  eyes, 
only  one  eye  does  really  the  work  of  seeing,  the  other  eye,  for 
the  matter  of  that,  might  be  closed  or  non-existent ;  the  brain 
taking  cognizance  of  what  the  one  eye  reports  to  it,  and  ignoring 
all  impressions  on  the  other  eye.  But  in  the  squinting  exercises 
of  the  chameleon,  both  eyes,  whether  working  in  unison  or 
independently,  have  what  they  communicate  to  the  brain 
impartially  attended  to. 

The  fore-foot  of  the  chameleon  has  two  of  the  four  toes 


REPTILES 


287 


forward,  and  the  other  two  backward.  This  gives  to  it  some- 
what the  appearance  of  a  crab's  pincers,  and  imparts  to  it,  at 
the  same  time,  the  grasping  power  of  the  hand.  There  is  an 
awkward  stilted  movement  in  the  limbs  of  the  chameleon,  as 
it  unclasps  its  hold,  extends  the  limbs,  and  fastens  on  to  some 
object.    The  tail  is  long  and  prehensile. 

Everybody  knows  that  the  chameleon  has  the  power, 
apparently  depending  on  its  volition,  of  changing  its  colour  ; 
but  judging  from  the  African  specimens  I  have  observed,  there 
seems  to  be  a  very  limited  choice  of  colour  and  of  pattern. 
The  most  common  colours  are  green  and  yellow,  and  the 
usual  patterns  are  a  yellow  mottling  on  a  green  ground,  or 
dark  green  vertical  patches  or  stripes  with  a  yellow  base  line. 
With  the  lantern  light  thrown  on  them  on  a  dark  night, 
chameleons  appear  as  plain  whitish-yellow7  bodies  among  the 
dark  foliage. 

Natives  have  a  superstitious  dread  of  chameleons,  and  believe 
their  bite  to  be  poisonous.  It  required  a  good  deal  of  persuasion 
to  get  any  one  to  carry  for  me  a  small  branch  on  which  a 
chameleon  perched  motionless  ;  but  if  the  chameleon,  disturbed 
by  the  movement,  began  to  walk  towards  the  hand,  the  man 
would  drop  the  branch  in  fear  and  horror.  When  irritated  or 
frightened,  the  chameleon  opens  wide  its  jaws  and  utters  a 
hissing  sound  like  "  shah."  If  greatly  annoyed,  it  will  snap  and 
bite  at  the  object  held  out  to  it  ;  but  it  is  really  very  timid 
and  inoffensive,  and  all  it  desires,  is  to  be  left  alone,  to  fulfil  its 
mission  of  clearing  the  world  of  flies  and  other  insect  pests. 

Lizards. — Judging  from  what  I  have  seen,  apparently  a  great 
variety  of  species  exist  of  the  useful  and  harmless  lizard.  It  is 
a  pleasure  to  watch  the  alert  movements  of  their  head,  their 
diligence  in  hunting  down  troublesome  insects,  their  nimbleness 
in  darting  on  their  prey,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  race 
up  the  perpendicular  surface  of  a  tree,  rock,  or  wall.  They  have 
to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  for  their  own  safety,  for  they  are 
evidently  considered  delicate  morsels  by  more  than  one  enemy. 
I  have  often  seen  a  hen  catch  a  lizard,  kill  it  by  dashing  it 
repeatedly  against  the  ground,  and  then  swallow  it  whole.  Some 
of  the  lizards  in  these  Protectorates  are  brilliantly  coloured  in 
blue,  orange,  and  red  ;  but  many  of  the  smaller,  decked  in 
inconspicuous  colours  of  grey  and  brown,  are  admirable  in  the 
beauty  of  the  patterns  traced  on  them. 


288         UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


There  is  a  very  large  water-lizard,  known  by  Swahilies  as 
the  "  kenge,"  which  may  grow  to  an  enormous  length,  and  is 
appreciated  by  them  as  food.  I  was  startled  once  by  nearly 
treading  on  one  of  these  big  lizards  at  Fajao  near  the  bank 
of  the  Nile.  At  first  I  took  it  for  a  small  crocodile,  but  as  it 
swiftly  clambered  up  a  steep  sandy  bank  I  saw  my  mistake. 
On  the  overland  journey  from  Lake  Xyassa  through  the  Mag- 
wangwara  country  in  German  East  Africa,  one  of  our  Swahilies 
shot  a  water-lizard  six  feet  in  length.  It  was  the  largest  I  have 
seen,  the  one  at  Fajao  could  not  have  been  much  over  three 
feet.  The  skin  of  the  "  kenge "  is  used  to  ornament  various 
fancy  articles.  In  Usoga  it  is  used  instead  of  the  conventional 
drum-skin  of  leather  for  small  drums;  it  also  serves  to  form  the 
sound-board  in  typical  Usoga  harps. 

One  night  the  cold,  wriggling  body  of  a  lizard  rushing  down 
my  leg  made  me  jump  out  of  bed  pretty  sharp,  under  the 
impression  that  it  was  a  snake. 

The  larger  lizards  will  catch  and  devour  the  smaller  species. 
I  have  watched  a  lizard  going  through  a  curious  sort  of  mus- 
cular exercise,  consisting  in  raising  the  head  and  the  fore-part 
of  the  body  up  and  down.  Occasionally  this  was  the  prelude 
to  attacking  and  pursuing  another  lizard.  In  these  rights  one 
of  the  lizards  may  lose  its  tail,  which  seems  to  drop  off  easily 
and  then  lies  for  a  considerable  time  wriggling  about.  In  a 
short  time  a  new  tail  has  grown  and  replaced  the  one  that  was 
lost. 

Eggs  of  lizards  have  more  than  once  been  brought  to  me  by 
natives  as  eggs  of  birds,  because  they  happened  to  be  unusually 
large  ;  but  lizard  eggs  are  more  elliptical  in  form,  and  even  a 
gentle  touch  will  often  indent  their  white,  leathery  surface. 

Tortoises. — One  comes  across  tortoises  pretty  often  in  these 
Protectorates,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  small  and  worthless. 
Some  species  are  found  in  the  grass,  others  frequent  rivers  and 
lakes.  From  Xdi  to  Muani  they  are  constantly  met  with.  The 
largest  specimen  I  saw,  was  in  one  of  the  pools  of  the  Athi 
river  ;  as  it  rose  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  we  thought  at  first 
that  it  was  the  head  of  a  hippo  appearing.  The  smallest  speci- 
mens I  found  in  pools  and  puddles  in  Kavirondo.  I  have  seen 
Wanyamwezi  eat  a  tortoise,  but  none  of  the  other  natives.  A 
good  many  tortoises  must  perish  in  the  annual  grass-fires,  for 
one  comes  not  unfrequently  upon  their  calcined  remains. 


REPTILES 


289 


Two  curious  specimens  of  the  "  leathery "  variety  I  saw 
caught  at  Kibero  by  two  Soudanese  children  fishing  with  line 
and  rod  in  Lake  Albert.  Instead  of  the  usual  hard  carapace, 
these  tortoises  had  a  soft  flexible  shell,  hence  the  name 
"  leathery."  They  were  brownish-black  in  colour,  dotted  all 
over  with  green  specks.  They  had  a  curious,  pointed  snout. 
When  placed  flat  on  the  back,  they  had  the  power  to  wriggle 
themselves  right  again.  I  kept  them  alive  for  many  months  in 
an  earthen  bowl  filled  with  water.  I  hoped  to  have  brought 
them  with  me  to  London,  but  owing  to  unforeseen  circum- 
stances they  had  to  be  left  at  Kampala. 

Snakes.  —  When  I  first  visited  Central  Africa  and  Lake 
Nyassa,  I  used  to  carry  some  capsules  containing  ammonia  in 
my  pocket,  in  anticipation  of  a  snake-bite.  I  was  agreeably 
surprised  to  find  how  rarely  one  sees  a  snake,  and  I  never 
heard  of  any  one  being  killed  or  even  bitten  by  one. 

But,  though  far  from  common,  one  is  forcibly  reminded 
every  now  and  again  in  British  East  Africa  and  Uganda  that 
there  are  snakes  about,  and  that  they  can  and  do  kill  human 
beings. 

Most  travellers  have  met  the  deadly  puff-adder,  the  big 
python,  and  the  green,  slender  grass-snake.  At  least  a  dozen 
other  species  have  come  at  one  time  or  another  under  my 
notice.  There  was  a  conspicuously  coloured  yellow  and  red 
snake  which  I  killed  near  Kilungu  on  my  third  journey.  A  tiny 
black  snake  with  white  spots,  which  I  tried  to  intercept  on  the 
caravan  road  at  Kasokwa  in  Unyoro,  turned  and  sprang  at  me  ; 
it  was  not  much  over  a  foot  in  length,  and  a  blow  with  my  stick 
knocked  it  over  dead.  At  Masindi  we  despatched  two  long  grey 
snakes  which  had  taken  up  their  quarters  in  the  hospital  dispen- 
sary. When  we  cleared  the  ground  for  a  new  road  leading 
from  the  foot  of  Kampala  hill  in  September  1894,  several  bluish- 
grey  and  brown  snakes  were  brought  to  light  and  destroyed,  and 
also  a  long  black  one  which  was  discovered  inside  a  white-ant 
hill  that  was  being  levelled.  I  once  saw  a  very  long  python 
lying  dead  near  the  Nzoia  river  in  Kavirondo. 

On  my  fourth  journey,  near  Lake  Nakuru,  one  of  my  porters 
warned  me  just  in  time,  as  I  approached  a  shrub  on  which 
lay  curled  a  young  python  four  to  five  feet  long.  I  blew  its 
head  off  with  my  shot-gun.  On  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Albert 
I  fired  from  a  dug-out  canoe  at  some  baboons,  and  a  long 

T 


29o        UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


green  snake,  which  I  had  not  observed,  was  accidentally  killed 
by  the  shot  and  dropped  from  the  overhanging  branches  into 
the  water. 

What  strange  tent  companions  one  may  have,  I  experienced 
at  Mtiabua  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert.  We  had  camped 
on  a  sandy  tongue  of  land,  sparsely  dotted  with  bush  and  shrub; 
I  was  dressing,  and  my  Arab  servant  was  removing  something 
or  other  from  the  tent,  preparatory  to  our  striking  tent  for  the 
day's  march,  when  a  snake  sprung  and  struck  at  his  hand,  but 
fortunately  only  hit  his  sleeve.  WTe  soon  killed  it.  It  was  three 
feet  long,  and  had  a  lovely  geometrical  pattern  in  red-brown 
along  its  back. 

When  visiting  the  Murchison  Falls  of  the  Victoria  Nile,  some 
one  just  called  out  in  time,  as  we  were  about  to  pass  underneath 
a  branch  on  which  lay  extended  a  silver-grey  tree-snake.  The 
way  this  creature  slid  swiftly  and  noiselessly  along  the  branches, 
and  from  one  bush  to  another,  was  simply  marvellous.  Twice 
at  Fovira  did  I  see  water-snakes  in  the  Nile  ;  the  one  was 
close  to  the  shore,  where  Soudanese  women  went  to  bathe  and 
to  fetch  water ;  the  other  started  boldly  from  our  side  of  the 
bank,  and,  though  the  river  is  here  over  half  a  mile  broad, 
attempted  to  swim  across  to  the  other  side,  but  meeting  one 
of  the  small  floating  islands  of  papyrus  sudd,  it  cleverly 
wriggled  up  a  papyrus-stem,  and  thus  secured  for  itself  a 
free  passage  on  it  down  the  Nile. 

At  the  Makindo  river,  on  my  fifth  journey,  I  was  on  the 
point  of  entering  one  of  the  many  small,  scattered  clumps  of 
bushes,  when  I  fortunately  noticed,  and  had  just  time  to  jump 
back,  a  snake,  part  of  it  standing  erect,  three  feet  high.  Its  head 
was  slightly  drawn  back,  and  it  was  ready  to  strike.  I  had 
a  narrow  escape.  On  my  sixth  journey,  I  watched  at  Kiwalo- 
goma,  in  Uganda,  a  small  brownish  tree-snake  climbing  the 
perpendicular  trunk  of  a  big  tree  with  comparative  ease  and 
rapidity.  It  was  much  too  small  to  encircle  the  tree  trunk,  but 
its  writhing  body  took  advantage  of  minute  inequalities  in  the 
bark,  found  support  thereon,  and  used  them  as  a  sort  of  ladder. 

The  most  dreaded  snake  is  the  deadly  puff-adder  ;  I  have 
shot  two  specimens.  The  first  one  was  on  my  third  journey, 
at  the  Kedong.  It  had  been  raining  incessantly  for  days,  and 
the  camp  looked  like  a  swamp.  Walking  along  in  single  file,  I 
was  passing  a  large  boulder,  when  I  saw  one  of  these  hateful 


REPTILES 


291 


reptiles  coiled  on  the  top  of  it  just  out  of  reach  of  the  water. 
As  I  had  the  gun  in  my  hand  I  fired,  and  owing  to  my  being 
so  near,  the  shot  cut  the  snake  right  in  two  and  blew  both  parts 
off  the  stone  into  the  water.  The  second  specimen  I  got  at  the 
Kiboko  river  on  my  fourth  journey.  It  lay  right  in  the  middle 
of  the  caravan  road  through  the  wood,  extended  at  full  length, 
and  leisurely  moving  along.  I  had  only  a  small-shot  cartridge 
with  me  ;  the  shot  therefore  did  not  injure  the  skin  perceptibly, 
though  it  killed  the  puff-adder  on  the  spot. 

On  the  10th  of  February  1898,  in  Singo,  a  province  of 
Uganda,  I  had  three  narrow  escapes  from  snake-bite.  In  the 
morning  a  snake  was  disturbed  under  the  awning  of  my  tent, 
but  fortunately  it  was  killed  before  it  could  get  at  me.  On 
the  march,  another  crossed  the  narrow  footpath  right  under 
our  feet.  It  suddenly  emerged  from  the  tangled  weeds  on  our 
right  and  disappeared  in  the  long  grass  on  our  left.  Luckily 
it  was  not  trodden  on,  so  no  one  was  bitten.  The  third 
was  to  cloud  the  day  with  a  sad  event.  I  was  riding  at  the 
time  on  my  donkey,  and  my  Wahima  servant,  "  Ferhani,"  was 
by  my  side.  Two  Soudanese  soldiers  were  walking  in  front  of 
us.  With  a  start  they  sprang  to  one  side,  calling  out  "  snake"  ; 
but  we  were  so  immediately  behind  them,  that  my  donkey,  my 
boy,  and  I  were  already  over  the  spot,  and  had  no  time  to 
avoid  it.  The  snake  could  have  struck  at  me  as  easily  as  at 
the  boy,  because  on  donkey-back  one's  legs  are  not  very  many 
inches  from  the  ground. 

With  a  scream  of  fear,  and  his  face  distorted  with  terror, 
Ferhani  jumped  from  my  side.  Too  late  !  The  snake  struck 
him  ;  my  donkey  and,  I  escaped  unhurt.  I  jumped  down  to 
attend  at  once  to  the  poor  fellow.  He  had  sunk  on  the 
ground,  clasping  his  leg.  He  exclaimed:  "Master,  I  shall  die." 
Then  he  kept  reciting  his  Mohammedan  prayers,  "There  is 
but  one  God  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet,  and  is  with 
God,"  up  to  almost  the  moment  of  his  death.  The  wound 
consisted  of  four  tiny  punctures,  mere  pin-pricks  ;  and  while 
one  man  was  vigorously  sucking  the  wound,  I  twisted  my 
handkerchief  round  the  limb  to  arrest  circulation.  The  Sou- 
danese soldiers  were  most  sympathetic  and  attentive.  Taking 
Ferhani  of  their  own  accord  on  their  back,  they  carried  him 
to  my  tent,  running  the  whole  distance.  I  used  ammonia  and 
stimulants,  the  remedies  at  hand,  but  nothing  could  save  him. 


292 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


He  died  within  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  I  lost  a  most 
faithful  and  attached  servant.  It  brought  the  uncertainty  of 
life  very  forcibly  before  me,  to  think  how  near  I  had  been  to 
falling  myself  a  victim  to  this  horrid  snake,  the  third  one 
that  endangered  my  life  in  the  course  of  one  day.  My  Arab 
servant  expressed  surprise,  that  the  bite  did  not  kill  Ferhani 
more  quickly.  If  what  he  says  is  correct,  the  puff-adder's 
bite  may  prove  fatal  in  a  very  few  minutes.  He  told  me, 
that  on  one  occasion,  when  some  Arabs  were  together  in  a 
hut,  one  of  them  left  the  company  and  went  to  a  cocoa-nut 
palm  close  by  ;  the  others  heard  a  scream  and  saw  the  man 
sink  down  at  the  foot  of  the  palm,  but  by  the  time  they  had 
hurried  up  to  him,  he  was  in  extremis,  and  died.  A  puff-adder 
had  bitten  him. 

Ferhani  had  been  only  ten  months  in  my  service.  Before 
he  came  to  me,  he  had  tried  various  callings,  including  that 
of  a  small  pedlar,  but  had  failed  to  earn  enough  to  provide 
the  bare  necessaries  of  life.  In  a  starving  condition  he 
applied  at  Fort  Masindi  for  work,  and  was  sent  on  to  me, 
as  I  was  willing  to  add  another  to  the  number  of  my 
servants.  He  did  not  know  a  word  of  Swahili,  and  knew  abso- 
lutely nothing  of  the  duties  of  a  servant.  Yet  very  soon  he 
had  learnt  enough  Swahili  to  make  himself  understood,  and 
had  mastered  all  the  details  of  his  duties  to  render  himself 
indispensable  to  the  household.  He  was  a  Mohammedan,  and 
a  strict  observer  of  the  Mohammedan  ritual.  He  was  frugal 
and  thrifty,  and  a  sum  exceeding  £2  was  left  by  him  in  cloth 
and  rupees,  and  taken  over  by  the  Government  for  any  heirs 
that  might  turn  up.  He  was  devotedly  attached  to  me,  and  a 
plucky  little  fellow,  standing  by  my  side  and  carrying  my  rifle 
for  me  on  more  than  one  occasion,  when  I  was  in  imminent 
danger  of  death.  To  me  his  death  was  a  great  loss.  He  was 
willing  and  hard-working,  tidy,  sober,  and  scrupulously  honest. 

As  he  was  being  carried  into  my  tent,  he  asked  for  his 
"  kitabo,"  or  book ;  this  contained  certain  passages  of  the 
Koran.  When  it  was  brought  to  him,  he  was  already  too 
drowsy  to  remember  it. 

The  bite  of  the  snake  was  almost  instantly  followed  by  a 
racking  pain  which  travelled  up  the  poor  fellow's  leg,  and  then 
passed  on  successively  to  the  abdomen,  both  arms,  and  the  other 
leg.    Severe  vomiting  set  in  within  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and 


REPTILES 


293 


continued  to  within  half-an-hour  of  his  death.  He  frequently 
pressed  both  his  sides  in  pain  and  clutched  at  my  arm.  A 
spasm  seized  his  throat,  as  if  he  were  suffocating.  The  whole 
body  rapidly  became  icy-cold,  in  spite  of  friction  and  other 
artificial  means  of  keeping  it  warm.  A  cold  sweat  covered  head 
and  chest.  The  power  of  speech  was  then  lost,  but  con- 
sciousness and  hearing  remained  almost  to  the  end.  The  sense 
of  drowsiness  increased ;  he  seemed  unable  to  resist  an  over- 
powering desire  to  sleep.  All  our  attempts  to  keep  him  awake 
proved  vain  ;  and  the  instant  he  yielded  to  sleep,  he  was  dead. 

He  died  in  my  tent.  I  had  the  body  removed  to  a 
grass-hut  to  be  buried  in  the  morning  by  his  co-religionists 
according  to  their  burial  rites.  The  grave  was  dug  the  same 
night  by  torchlight.  The  body  was  wrapped  up  in  a  clean 
white  cotton  cloth,  so  that  it  looked  like  a  mummy.  In  the 
morning  it  was  buried,  a  large  white  cloth  being  held  as  a 
cover  over  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  on  the  floor  of  which  a  sort 
of  deep  gutter  had  been  prepared  to  receive  the  body  facing 
towards  Mecca.  A  number  of  short  sticks,  placed  slantingly 
against  one  side  of  the  pit,  formed  a  sort  of  inclined  roof 
over  the  body,  this  was  covered  with  grass,  and,  finally,  some 
wet  earth  was  spread  over  the  grass.  The  pit  was  then 
filled  up,  a  mound  raised  over  it,  and  four  sticks  stuck  at  the 
four  corners.  The  mourners  repeated  some  verses  of  the 
Koran,  probably  a  burial  formula,  holding  up  their  hands  as  if 
reading  from  some  imaginary  book.  Some  water  was  sprinkled 
over  the  grave,  and  the  mourners  went  through  gestures  sug- 
gestive of  washing  their  hands  and  faces. 

Then  the  signal,  was  given  to  march.  We  left  Ferhani  in 
his  lonely  grave,  and  the  busy  duties  of  another  day  claimed 
our  attention.  Yesterday  he  marched  by  my  side  in  perfect 
health,  to-day  he  had  dropped  out  of  the  ranks.  He  lay  cold 
and  still,  and  another  had  taken  his  place.  Four  tiny  punctures, 
mere  pin  -  pricks,  and  yet  in  a  few  hours  he  was  snatched 
from  among  the  living  !  What  an  emphatic  illustration  of  the 
saying,  that  we  are  " fearfully  and  wonderfully  made"  ! 

Crocodiles. — Ascending  the  Shire  river  in  1893,  our  stern- 
wheeler  stuck  on  a  sand-bank.  In  anticipation  of  such  an 
event,  apparently  of  common  occurrence,  extra  natives  had  been 
shipped  aboard.  It  was  their  duty  to  jump  into  the  river  and 
pull  the  vessel  into  deep  water  again.    Only  a  few  yards  from  us 


294  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  water  was  deep  enough.  The  river  teems  with  crocodiles, 
but  there  is  a  general  belief,  that  the  splashing  and  the  shouting 
frightens  the  crocs  away.  The  men  toiled  all  day  ;  but,  if 
anything,  we  got  more  firmly  fixed  than  ever  on  the  sand.  In 
the  evening  the  captain  told  me,  that  one  of  the  natives  was 
supposed  to  have  been  drowned,  as  he  had  disappeared  in  the 
water.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  just  as  possible  that  he  was 
quietly  "annexed"  by  a  crocodile,  in  whose  "sphere  of  in- 
fluence" he  happened  to  be.  As  the  steamer  could  not  be  got 
off,  boats  came  from  higher  up  the  river  to  our  assistance  and 
took  us  to  the  landing-station. 

On  our  way  we  saw  numbers  of  crocs  basking  on  the  sand- 
banks and  plunging  into  the  water  as  our  boat  drew  near  to 
them.  One  huge  monster  refused  to  budge.  My  boat- 
companion  got  greatly  excited,  and  begged  the  loan  of  my 
revolver,  the  only  weapon  we  had. 

When  thirty  yards  off,  he  fired  at  the  eye  of  the  croc.  A 
furious  switch  of  the  tail  followed  and  the  monster  lay  still.  I 
knew  my  companion  was  a  good  shot,  but  I  was  amazed  at  this 
marvellous  exhibition  of  skill,  and  at  the  astounding  accuracy  of 
his  aim  from  a  moving  boat ;  but  there,  apparently,  lay  the  proof 
before  my  eyes.  My  companion  was  naturally  doubly  sure,  and 
he  decided  to  land  and  secure  the  croc.  I  agreed  to  follow,  but 
not  a  native  would  stir  from  the  boat.  I  do  not  wonder  now, 
since  I  have  had  a  little  more  experience  of  crocs.  Once  on  the 
same  sand-bank  with  our  motionless  croc,  I  suggested  that  my 
companion  should  fire  another  shot  to  make  quite  sure  that  the 
reptile  was  dead.  This  shot  was  followed  by  such  a  furious 
lashing  of  the  tail  and  such  an  unpleasant  opening  and  clapping 
together  of  the  huge  jaws,  that  we  thought  it  advisable  to  retreat 
backwards,  scramble  into  the  boat,  and  push  off,  especially  as 
the  croc  was  trying  to  screw  himself  round  on  its  fore-legs  in 
our  direction.  We  should  probably  not  have  troubled  ourselves 
further  about  it,  if  one  of  the  other  boats  had  not  appeared  on 
the  scene.  My  companion  borrowed  a  rifle  from  one  of  the 
new-comers.  Once  more  we  ventured  on  the  sand-bank,  and  my 
companion  sent  the  bullet  crashing  into  the  head  of  the  reptile. 
Instantly  the  croc  began  rolling  over  and  over,  but  fortunately 
towards  the  distant  end  of  the  sandbank.  We  had  not  a  spare 
cartridge,  and  were  on  the  point  of  losing  the  croc,  when  my 
companion  produced  a  knife. 


REPTILES 


Digging  at  the  throat  of  the  reptile  with  the  knife,  whenever 
the  under  surface  came  into  view,  and  jumping  aside  at  each  snap, 
we  succeeded  in  cutting  the  jugular,  and  the  croc  succumbed 
to  its  many  wounds,  within  a  few  inches  of  the  edge  of  the  water. 
Our  boatmen  even  then  would  not  venture  near  for  some  time. 
The  carcass  was  drawn  into  the  boat,  and  we  proceeded  on  our 
journey,  whilst  I  made  my  first  — and  I  take  care  it  shall  be  the 
last — autopsy  on  a  croc.  It  was  interesting  to  dissect  the  reptile, 
examine  its  internal  organs,  and  ascertain  that  the  stomach  con- 


CROCODILE-POOL  AT  FAJAO. 


tained  apparently  a  bushel  of  pebbles,  but  absolutely  no  vestige 
of  food ;  but— the  odour  on  my  hands  afterwards  and  for  days  ! 
No  amount  of  soaping  and  scrubbing  seemed  to  get  it  off,  and  it 
almost  nauseated  me,  when  I  raised  food  to  my  mouth. 

Some  natives  do  eat  croc,  but  very  few.  The  gall-bladder, 
with  the  contained  gall,  was  in  great  request.  According  to 
some  natives,  it  is  highly  prized  by  their  "  medicine-men  "  for 
supposed  medicinal  virtues  ;  according  to  others,  it  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  some  very  deadly  poison.  On  rejoining 
the  travellers  in  the  other  boats,  the  miraculous  revolver  shot 
which  disabled  the  monster  croc  at  thirty  yards,  was  explained 


296  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


by  the  fact,  that  some  one  in  the  first  boat  had  already  hit  it 
with  a  rifle  bullet,  and  had  left  it  for  dead  on  the  sand-bank. 

At  the  south  end  of  Lake  Nyassa,  I  have  seen  scores  of  crocs 
floating  lazily  on  the  water,  whilst  natives  would  bathe  with  the 
greatest  unconcern  in  the  lake.  They  explained  this  to  me,  on 
the  strength  of  their  possessing  from  their  "  medicine-man  "  some 
special  charm  which  gave  them  immunity  from  crocs.  If 
occasionally  the  crocs  caught  and  devoured  some  one,  it  was 
attributed  to  neglecting  to  purchase  the  necessary  charm. 

Visiting  the  hospital  at  Kilwa  in  January  1894,  I  saw  among 
the  patients  a  man  who  had  lost  both  his  hands  quite  recently  ; 
a  croc  had  snapped  them  off,  when  the  man  was  washing 
clothes.  At  Kibero,  on  Lake  Albert,  I  shot  a  young  croc,  but 
the  bullet  shattered  the  upper  half  of  the  head. 

I  shot  several  crocs  at  Fajao.  The  river  is  simply  alive  with 
them  at  this  place,  especially  at  "  Crocodile-Pool."  The  Nile 
dashing  down  the  Murchison  Falls,  indents  the  southern  bank 
with  a  sequence  of  curves  separated  by  rocky  hills.  A  series  of 
pools  is  thus  formed,  owing  to  the  fierce  current  of  the  stream, 
by  the  back-wash  of  the  water.  Crocodile-Pool  is  the  one  most 
handy  for  the  villagers  ;  and  here,  any  day,  scores  of  women  and 
children  may  be  seen  bathing,  in  spite  of  the  crocs  which  bask 
open-mouthed  on  some  of  the  rocks  in  the  stream  or  congregate 
in  scores  on  the  opposite  northern  bank  of  the  Nile. 

No  doubt  the  Soudanese  settlement,  which  is  comparatively 
recent,  has  driven  most  of  the  reptiles  to  the  Shuli  side,  but  there 
are  still  a  good  many  on  the  British  bank  of  the  river.  Even 
though  the  croc  may  not  be  visible,  it  may  be  quite  close.  One 
day  I  shot  a  small  bird  on  a  branch  overhanging  the  river. 
The  bird  dropped  into  the  water,  perhaps  six  or  seven  feet  from 
the  bank.  As  it  touched  the  water,  the  open  jaws  of  a  croc  rose 
above  the  surface,  snapped  up  the  bird  and  disappeared.  To 
my  horror  one  of  the  boys  plunged  into  the  water.  As  if  he 
could  possibly  have  recovered  the  bird  !  I  yelled  out  to  him  to 
come  back,  fearing  every  second  to  see  a  dreadful  tragedy ;  the 
boy  himself  was  much  surprised  at  my  excitement.  But  I  took 
care  never  again  to  shoot  a  bird  which  might  fall  into  the  river. 

On  another  occasion  I  heard  a  loud  snap  and  splash.  Look- 
ing in  that  direction,  I  saw  the  head  of  a  croc  above  the  water 
with  a  big  fish  in  its  jaws  ;  the  posterior  half  of  the  fish  was  flap- 
ping violently  from  side  to  side.    A  second  and  a  third  snap 


REPTILES 


297 


succeeded,  and  the  fish  disappeared  inside  the  croc,  and  the  croc 
vanished  in  the  stream.    It  all  happened  in  a  few  seconds. 

When  I  have  been  hippo-shooting  on  this  river,  I  have  had  an 
uncomfortable  feeling  of  the  danger  of  the  dug-out  canoe  up- 
setting. Between  my  first  and  second  visit  to  Fajao  such  an 
accident  did  occur  to  two  men  in  a  canoe.  I  was  told,  that  the 
moment  the  canoe  was  upset,  the  spot  seemed  alive  with  crocs. 
One  of  the  men  got  safely  into  another  dug-out  close  by  ;  but 
when  the  rescuers  were  trying  to  pull  in  the  other  man,  who 
was  one  of  our  Soudanese  soldiers,  it  was  found  that  it  was  a  tug- 
of-war  against  crocs.  Thereupon  the  unfortunate  soldier  called 
out  :  "  What's  the  good  ?  they  have  got  hold  of  me  ;  you  had 
better  let  go."  According  to  the  English  officer  who  told  me  the 
particulars  of  this  accident,  the  would-be  rescuers  thereupon  did 
let  go,  and  of  course  the  next  moment  it  was  all  over.  The 
Soudanese  take  mishaps  and  misfortunes  with  stoicism  ;  their 
Mohammedan  religion  bids  them  to  accept  everything  as 
"  kismet,"  i.e.  fate. 

I  lost  several  crocs,  before  I  managed  to  secure  a  specimen. 
The  convulsive  start  given  by  the  dying  reptile  used  to  send 
it  into  the  stream,  and  then  I  was  sure  never  to  see  it  again. 
Determined  to  get  a  specimen,  I  went  in  a  dug-out,  rounding  as 
noiselessly  as  possible  a  tongue  of  land,  where  I  knew  there 
were  lots  of  crocs.  I  used  my  Martini- Henry  sporting  rifle.  I 
aimed  at  the  reptile  farthest  from  the  water  ;  it  was  apparently 
shot  dead,  and  I  had  time  to  shoot  another.  In  the  mean- 
time the  first  one  gradually  recovered  and  began  crawling  to- 
wards the  water,  leaving  a  blood  streak  in  its  path.  But  though 
I  plugged  three  more  bullets  into  it,  and  could  see  the  blood 
spurting  out,  the  reptile  managed  to  tumble  into  the  water,  and, 
as  on  former  occasions,  I  never  saw  it  again.  I  hurriedly  re- 
turned to  my  second  croc,  and  as  it  opened  and  snapped  its 
jaws,  though  apparently  too  badly  wounded  to  be  able  to  move, 
I  advanced  to  within  a  few  yards  and  sent  a  bullet  crashing  into 
its  head.    This  killed  it  outright. 

We  fastened  the  body  to  the  side  of  our  dug-out  and  towed 
it  to  the  landing-place,  where  it  was  dragged  ashore  and  cut 
up  ;  the  native  officer  annexing  a  sort  of  musk-gland  in  the 
armpit,  which  some  appear  to  value  highly.  I  kept  the  paws, 
which  are  partly  webbed.  Some  of  the  Soudanese  belonging 
to  the  Makraka  tribe  eat  crocodile.    Among]  those  who  wanted 


298  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


the  croc  flesh  there  was  a  leper  with  some  of  his  fingers  gone. 
I  heard  that  some  natives  believe,  that  eating  the  reptile  cures 
leprosy,  whilst  they  also  believe  this  fell  disease  is  caused  by 
eating  however  tiny  a  bit  of  crocodile  flesh. 

These  diametrically  opposite  views  have  their  European 
representatives  in  so-called  homcepathic  treatment  of  disease, 
and  in  the  queer  notion  of  curing  rabies  by  applying  "  a  hair 
of  the  dog  that  bit  you." 

In  the  stomach  of  the  croc  we  found,  besides  the  usual 
quantity  of  stones,  a  huge  fish  ;  but  it  was  too  decomposed 
even  for  native  insensibility  to  eat.  The  fore-paws  of  the  croc 
have  five  toes  and  resemble  hands  ;  they  are  small,  and  only 
the  three  inner  toes  have  nails.  The  hind-paws  are  huge,  but 
have  only  four  toes,  three  of  which  have  nails.  From  tip  of 
snout  to  tip  of  tail  this  croc  measured  13  feet  11  inches. 

These  reptiles  have  not  the  narrow-pointed  jaws  of  the 
Indian  "gavial,"  and  they  differ  from  New  World  alligators  in 
the  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw  fitting  into  notches  in  the  upper 
jaw,  and  not  into  specially  provided  sockets. 

On  a  subsequent  visit  I  secured  a  second  specimen  of  croc. 
This  one  I  also  shot  with  a  Martini  bullet.  It  was  much 
smaller,  it  measured  only  12  feet  ih  inches.  I  removed  the 
teeth,  and  kept  over  fifty  of  them,  not  counting  small  ones. 
The  large  teeth  are  curios  worth  keeping.  In  both  crocs  I 
cut  off  the  flap  of  skin  over  the  abdomen  ;  this  is  the  softest 
part  of  the  skin,  and  when  tanned  it  constitutes  the  valuable 
crocodile  leather  of  commerce. 

As  soon  as  the  Uganda  railway  is  completed,  and  the  Cairo- 
to-Cape  line  realised,  some  enterprising  individual  may  succeed 
in  establishing  a  brisk  and  lucrative  trade  with  Europe  in  croco- 
dile skins  from  Fajao  and  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Nile. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES. 

MISSIONARIES,  doctors,  and  military  officers  are 
amongst  the  principal  collectors  of  butterflies,  moths, 
and  beetles.  Now  and  then  some  one  engaged  in 
the  construction  of  a  new  road  or  railway  has  his 
attention  arrested  by  a  beautiful  or  curious  insect,  and  sud- 
denly he  too  falls  under  the  collecting  spell.  But  there  are 
comparatively  few  professional  collectors ;  it  is  next  to  im- 
possible for  such  to  find  enough  purchasers  to  make  the 
business  pay.  The  public  is  not  interested  in  this  sort  of 
achievement,  though  willing  to  spend  money  on  the  latest 
sensational  improbabilities  from  the  fertile  brain  of  an  un- 
truthful adventurer. 

It  would  cost  the  professional  a  small  fortune  to  reach  the 
best  collecting  areas  which  the  amateur  visits  at  the  expense 
of  some  Mission  society  or  the  Government.  To  the  amateur 
it  does  not  matter  whether  the  locality  or  the  season  are 
favourable  or  not,  whether  the  specimens  are  common  or  rare, 
whether  he  catches  few  or  many  ;  to  him  it  is  merely  a  plea- 
sant recreation  to  employ  his  leisure-time.  It  often  means  life 
and  health  to  a  man,  leading  a  lonely  existence  in  some  out-of-the- 
way  station,  to  have  some  object  which  will  divert  his  thoughts 
pleasantly  and  cause  him  to  take  the  needful  outdoor  exercise. 
"  All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy,"  whether  he  be 
fifteen  or  fifty  ;  and  there  are  healthier  ways  of  spending  one's 
leisure  than  "  killing  time  "  with  the  assistance  of  a  French  novel 
and  whisky. 

There  is  a  popular  prejudice,  that  collecting  butterflies  is 
"childish,"  because  we  unconsciously  associate  it  with  boyhood's 
happy  days  of  sailor-suit  and  Etons,  and  imagine  that  it  is  summed 

up  in  the  capture  of  a  "  Garden  White."    With  a  deeper  insight 

299 


3oo  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


into  the  subject,  we  are  astonished  at  the  vast  number  of  new 
species  added  every  year  to  science. 

To  the  dull  eye  of  ignorance,  the  starry  firmament  conveys 
no  more  than  the  presence  of  certain  specks  of  light,  and 
similarly  the  universe  of  myriad  forms  of  life  is  to  the 
many  nothing  more  than  the  existence  of  animated  particles 
of  dust.  Two  years  ago  I  was  the  guest  of  a  gentleman,  a 
Scotchman,  who  called  the  collector's  pursuit  "womanish"  ! 
Yet  it  was  in  his  house,  that  I  captured  two  new  species  of 
choice  moths,  one  of  them  being  the  "  Eucrostes  impunctata" 
of  a  beautiful  apple-green  colour  with  a  lovely  crimson 
marginal  line. 

I  became  interested  in  butterflies,  moths,  and  beetles,  rather 
late  in  life  ;  and  yet  I  have  succeeded  in  adding  more  than  fifty 
new  species  to  science.  How  I  wish  I  could  recall  the  wasted 
opportunities  of  earlier  years  ! 

The  traveller  to  distant  or  rarely  visited  regions  of  the  earth 
is  almost  sure  to  come  across  new  forms  of  insect  life,  and,  with 
comparatively  little  trouble,  he  could  bring  thence  valuable  infor- 
mation. Of  course  he  must  go  properly  equipped.  As  I  am  a 
self-taught  collector,  my  present  modus  operandi  is  the  result  of 
experience  gained  by  passing  through  the  preliminary  stages 
of  loss  and  failure.  The  collector's  outfit  should  comprise 
butterfly  nets,  paper  pockets,  collecting  box,  killing-bottle, 
biscuit  tins,  and  naphthaline. 

Butterfly  Net. — This  must  not  be  a  toy,  but  the  best  form  of 
net  to  be  obtained  in  London,  sufficiently  large  to  capture  the 
largest  butterfly  or  moth  without  injury  to  its  wings  ;  soft  and 
pliant,  with  the  starch  taken  out  of  the  stiff  new  net.  It  should 
hang  limp  and  close,  so  as  to  enfold  the  tiniest  specimens.  At 
least  half-a-dozen  spare  nets  should  be  kept  in  reserve,  owing  to 
the  impossibility  of  replacing  atom  or  ruined  net  in  these  remote 
regions.  It  should  always  be  ready  for  use,  and  on  the  march  it 
should  be  carried  by  a  servant  who  should  be  at  hand  at  a 
moment's  call. 

Paper  Pockets. — The  paper  used  for  making  paper  pockets 
should  not  be  too  thin.  Ordinary  curl  paper  is  not  suitable, 
the  specimens  get  injured  in  it.  A  number  of  these  pockets, 
of  different  sizes,  should  be  carried  ready  folded  for  immediate 
use  on  the  march.  The  best  sort  of  paper  is  provided  by  the 
various  illustrated  papers  edited  for  transmission  abroad.  To 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  301 

prepare  paper  pockets,  use  a  rectangular  piece  of  paper,  and 
fold  thus : — 


Butterflies  can,  as  a  rule,  be  killed  instantaneously  by  a  moderate 
pressure  on  their  thorax.  Having  killed  the  specimen,  drop  it 
head  first  into  the  paper  pocket,  taking  care  not  to  damage  the 
antennae  or  any  other  part  of  the  body.  Let  the  body  slide 
down  along  the  diagonal  line  of  the  pocket,  turn  down  the  flap, 
and  the  specimen  is  safely  enclosed.  Never  place  more  than 
one  specimen  in  one  and  the  same  paper  pocket. 

Collecting  Box. — This  should  be  filled,  but  not  too  tightly, 
with  cotton-wool.  I  have  found  the  botanical  form  of  box 
the  most  useful  on  the  march.  I  carry  in  it  the  empty  paper 
pockets  ready  for  immediate  use,  as  well  as  those  filled 
with  the  captured  specimens.  I  keep  the  empty  ones  at  one 
end  of  the  box  and  the  filled  at  the  other.  The  cotton-wool 
prevents  the  specimens  from  being  shaken  about  and  from 
getting  injured,  should  the  box  fall  to  the  ground. 

Killing- Bottle. — This  is  absolutely  necessary  for  killing  beetles 
and  such  of  the  thick-bodied  lepidoptera  as  would  get  spoiled, 
if  killed  by  pressure  on  the  thorax. 

Biscuit  Tins. — An  empty  biscuit  tin  is  the  most  convenient 
receptacle  for  packing  away  the  captured  specimens  for  trans- 
mission to  Europe.  Beetles  should  never  be  placed  in  the  same 
box  with  butterflies  and  moths ;  they  should  have  a  separate  box 
for  themselves.  The  biscuit  tins  should  be  neither  too  small 
nor  too  large.  A  good  pad  of  cotton-wool,  placed  on  top  of 
the  paper  pockets,  will  prevent  them  from  shifting  their  position, 
and  as  more  and  more  specimens  are  added,  the  pad  of  cotton- 
wool should  be  reduced  in  size.  The  pad  should  always  just 
suffice  to  fill  up  the  tin. 

Naphthaline. —  Without  this  drug,  the  collector  may  find  all 
his  specimens  spoiled  by  ants.  On  my  first  visit  to  Zanzibar,  a 
gentleman  arriving  from  Uganda  presented  me  with  his  "whole" 


302  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


collection.  I  am  glad  I  insisted,  that  he  should  open  the  box 
himself,  and  hand  me  each  specimen  in  turn ;  he  found 
that  barely  half-a-dozen  of  the  specimens  were  uninjured,  the 
rest  were  a  mass  of  fragments  of  wings  and  bodies,  for  ants  had 
been  at  work  on  them.  He  himself  had  no  idea  of  the  condition 
of  his  so-called  collection,  till  he  opened  the  box.  The  naphtha- 
line should  be  crushed  into  fine  powder,  and  a  little  sprinkled 
into  the  empty  biscuit  tin,  and  then  a  little  more  on  the  top  of 
the  last  layer  of  specimens.  It  should  never  be  placed  inside  the 
paper  pocket,  where  it  might  injure  the  specimen.  A  little 
sprinkled  on  the  top  pad  of  cotton-wool  will  often  suffice  to  keep 
ants  and  other  insects  away.  The  beetle  collection  should  be 
treated  in  the  same  way. 

I  shall  now  enumerate  the  different  new  species  which  I  have 
had  the  good  fortune  to  capture. 

(A)  Two  butterflies  (described  by  Miss  Emily  Mary  Sharpe). 

Vide  "Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,"  Ser.  6, 
vol.  xviii.  August  1896. 

Amauris  ansorgei,  sp.  nov.  (Plate  I.  fig.  6) . 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Danaidae,  and  is  allied  to  Amauris 
Ellioti  Butler,  but  differs  in  having  the  spots  on  the  forewing 
white  instead  of  yellow. 

Forewing:  ground-colour  brownish-black  with  white  spots. 
Expanse  :  3.1  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Chagwe  in  Uganda  on  December  1894  near 
a  stream. 

Mycalesis  ansorgei,  sp.  nov.  (Plate  I.  fig.  7). 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Satyridae,  and  is  allied  to  Mycalesis 
rhanidostroma  Karsch  and  Mycalesis  saga  Butler  on  the 
underside. 

Forewing  :  basal  area  dark  velvet-brown  ;  a  round  dark  spot 
or  brand  close  to  the  cell  is  marked  between  the  first  and  the 
third  median  nervules.    Expanse  :  2.1  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Mtebe  (Port  Alice)  in  Uganda  on  July  12, 
1894,  in  the  little  wood  which  fringes  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza, 
near  the  Commissioner's  residence.  It  frequents  the  shady 
depths  of  the  wood.  Some  more  were  caught  at  the  same 
place  in  January  1897. 


New  species  of  African  butterflies,  Moths,  and  beetles. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  303 


(B)  One  butterfly  (described  by  the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild). 

Vide  "  Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  iii.  September  1896. 

Papilio  phorcas  ansorgei,  subsp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Papilionidae,  and  differs  from  Papilio 
phorcas  F.,  by  the  spots  on  the  forewing,  situate  along  the  stem 
of  veins  7  and  8,  being  smaller  and  separated  from  the  spot  at 
the  base  of  the  fork  by  a  black  interspace  ;  the  tails  are  broader 
than  in  phorcas.  It  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  a  green  swallow- 
tail. 

It  was  caught  on  the  bleak  and  cold  Mau,  in  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  on  May  1895.  It  flies  high,  and  settles  on  the 
flowers  of  certain  shrubs  which  bloom  in  May. 

(C)  Fifteen  moths  (described  by  Mr.  F.  Kirby,  Assistant  in 

Zoological  Department,  British  Museum,  Natural  His- 
tory). Vide  "  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History," 
Ser.  6,  vol.  xviii.  November  1896. 

JEgocera  triplagiata,  var.  (?)  nov.  dispar. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Agaristidae.  Four  specimens  of  this 
insect  were  taken  at  the  same  time  and  place  as  three  specimens 
of  ^Egocera  triplagiata  Rothschild,  which  it  resembles  greatly, 
except  in  the  colour  of  the  three  transverse  white  bands  on  the 
forewing.  It  is  in  all  probability  a  dimorphic  form  of  ^Egocera 
triplagiata  Rothschild. 

It  was  caught  in  the  Magwangwara  country,  German  East 
Africa,  on  January  11,  1894,  in  a  tract  thickly  covered  with 
brushwood. 

Protocercea  geraldi,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Agaristidae,  and  is  allied  to  Proto- 
ceraea  albigutta  Karsch  from  Lower  Guinea  (?),  but  in  that 
species  the  forewings  are  described  as  black,  apart  from  other 
differences.    Expanse  :  33  millim. 

Forewings  are  deep  red,  with  five  white  spots  ;  hindwings, 
orange. 

It  was  caught  near  the  Narogare  River,  Kavirondo,  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate,  along  the  old  caravan  route,  on  May  19, 
1894,  on  an  open  grass  plain. 


304  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


ZygcEtia  Semihyalina,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Zygaenidae,  sub-family  Zygaeninae, 
and  is  allied  to  Zygaena  marina  Butler,  but  has  much  larger 
vitreous  spots.    Expanse  :  29-30  millim. 

It  is  a  lovely  little  moth.  The  head  is  green  ;  the  antennae 
are  reddish-brown,  white  towards  the  tips ;  thorax  reddish- 
brown,  scaled  with  bluish-green  above ;  abdomen  coppery- 
green.    Wings  are  cupreous. 

The  forewing  has  5  large  transparent  spots  and  the  hind- 
wing  has  2  such  spots. 

It  was  caught  at  Port  Alice  in  Uganda  on  June  30,  1894,  on 
flowering  weeds,  on  the  edge  of  the  wood  which  borders  Lake 
Victoria  Nyanza. 

Aletis  ethelinda,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Nyctemeridae  ;  and  is  allied  to  Aletis 
monteironis  Butler  from  Delagoa  Bay,  except  in  colour. 

The  wings  are  deep  orange-red  with  broad  black  border. 
Forewings  have  a  large  oblique  subapical  white  band  and  3 
spots ;  hindwings  have  a  rather  small  oval  spot.  Expanse  : 
52-64  millim. 

It  was  caught  at  Parumbira  at  the  north-east  end  of  Lake 
Nyassa  on  November  8  to  10,  1893. 

Aletis  erici,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Nyctemeridae. 

The  wings  are  rather  pale  orange-tawny  (perhaps  faded)  ; 
forewings  with  a  broad  oblique  subapical  white  band  and  3 
white  spots  below  it ;  hindwings  with  7  or  8  white  spots  on  the 
nervures.    Expanse  :  65  lin. 

It  was  caught  at  Port  Alice  in  Uganda  near  Lake  Victoria 
Nyanza  on  July  19,  1894. 

Neuroxena  ansorgei,  sp.  nov. 
This  very  rare  moth  had  to  be  classed  as  a  new  genus 
(Neuroxena). 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Nyctemeridae. 

The  forewing  is  light  brown,  with  a  uniformly  broad  oblique 
pale  yellow  bar  running  across  it.  Hind  wing  is  pale  orange. 
Abdomen  red.    Expanse  :  46  millim. 

Only  one  specimen,  caught  at  Mtebe  (Port  Alice)  in  Uganda 
on  July  12,  1894. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  305 


Redoa  maria,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Liparidae,  and  is  allied  to  the  Indian 
species  Redoa  clara  Walk,  and  Redoa  rinaria  Moore.    Expanse  : 
43  millim. 

It  is  iridescent  white,  thinly  scaled,  subhyaline,  with  2  silvery- 
white  bands  on  the  forewings. 

It  was  caught  at  Mtebe  (Port  Alice)  in  Uganda  on  July  12, 
1894. 

Cr opera  pallida,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Liparidae.  At  the  Natural  History 
Museum,  South  Kensington,  there  are  specimens  from  Natal 
and  Delagoa  Bay.    Expanse  :  24-34  millim. 

Forewings  pale  yellow  with  slight  orange  tint,  with  3  or  4 
irregular  and  indistinct  transverse  whitish  bands  ;  an  orange  spot 
in  the  middle  of  the  wing.    Hindwings  pale  yellow,  unspotted. 

It  is  noted  as  abundant  on  the  coast  of  Mozambique  in  1893. 

Lasioptila  ansorgei,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Saturniidae. 

This  very  rare  moth  had  to  be  classed  as  a  new  genus 
(Lasioptila). 

It  is  of  a  rich  fawn  colour,  slightly  varied  with  rosy  grey. 
The  forewings  have  a  slight  transverse  black  dash  towards  the 
base,  and  a  narrow  vitreous  lunule  bordered  with  black  on  both 
sides,  and  with  the  horns  turned  outwards,  at  the  end  of  the  cell. 
Hindwings  with  a  narrow  black  lunule  opening  outwards,  and 
most  distinct  on  the  underside,  at  the  end  of  the  cell. 

Only  one  specimen,  a  female,  was  caught  in  Uganda  on 
December  12,  1894. 

Hibrildes  ansorgei,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Lasiocampidae. 

Body  is  reddish-brown,  antennae  strongly  bipectinated.  Fore- 
wings smoky  hyaline  with  black  cilia  ;  a  blackish  mark  at  the 
end  of  the  cell,  beyond  which  is  a  broad  white  band  ;  a  row 
of  submarginal  white  spots  between  the  nervures.  Hindwings 
tawny  yellow,  with  a  broad  lunule  at  the  end  of  the  cell  ;  a 
rather  narrow  black  border  marked  with  6  large  white  spots 
between  the  nervures.    Expanse  :  60  millim. 

Only  two  specimens,  both  females,  were  caught  in  the  Mag- 
wangwara  country,  German  East  Africa,  on  January  19,  1894. 

U 


306  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Hibrildes  veuosay  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Lasiocampidae,  and  is  allied  to 
Hibrildes  norax  Druce,  the  type  of  the  genus  ;  but  in  that 
species  the  thorax  is  white,  and  the  wings  are  also  much  whiter 
than  in  Hibrildes  venosa.  It  may  be  the  male  of  Hibrildes 
ansorgei. 

It  is  creamy  white  and  subhyaline.  Forewings  have  costal  area 
yellowish,  tips  brownish.  Antennae  black,  head  orange,  thorax 
clothed  with  yellow  hairs,  abdomen  reddish.   Expanse :  57  millim. 

Three  specimens,  all  of  them  male,  were  caught  in  the 
Magwangwara  country,  German  East  Africa,  on  January  16 
and  19,  1894. 

Lichenopteryx  conspersa,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Lasiocampidae. 

Antennae  very  long,  brown,  very  deeply  bipectinated.  Wings 
buff  and  very  densely  clothed  with  scales  and  hair.  Forewings 
with  many  scattered  brown  and  black  spots.  Hindwings  nearly 
as  long  and  broad  as  the  forewings.    Expanse  :  53  millim. 

Two  specimens,  a  male  and  a  female,  were  caught  near 
the  Kesokon  River  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  along  the  old 
caravan  route. 

Pyramarista  rufescens,  sp.  nov. 

It  is  a  very  rare  moth,  and  has  been  classed  as  a  new  genus 
(Pyramarista).  It  belongs  to  the  family  Hypopyridae,  and  is 
allied  to  Hypopyra  bosei  Saalmuller  from  Madagascar. 

Fawn  colour  ;  tinged  with  rosy  on  the  costa.  Antennae  with 
a  row  of  short  triangular  teeth  on  each  side,  terminating  in  a 
slender  curved  bristle.  Forewings  with  a  triangular  black  spot 
on  the  middle  of  the  costa.  Abdomen  with  small  anal  tuft. 
Expanse  :  81  millim. 

Only  one  specimen,  a  male,  was  captured  at  Parumbira  at 
the  north-east  end  of  Lake  Nyassa  on  November  15,  1893. 

Maxula  africana,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Hypopyridae,  and  is  allied  to  the 
common  and  variable  East  Indian  Maxula  unistriata  Guen., 
but  without  the  zigzag  lines  and  rows  of  black  dots  on  the  disc 
which  we  meet  with  in  that  species. 

The  male  has  the  wings  grey,  dusted  with  black,  with  a  sub- 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  307 

marginal  white  stripe.  Forewings  have  4  black  costal  spots. 
Underside  orange-tawny.  The  female  is  much  lighter.  Expanse  : 
45-53  millim. 

It  was  caught  in  the  Magwangwara  country,  German  East 
Africa,  on  January  11  and  13,  1894. 

Paraeumelea  conspersata,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Geometrae ;  and  is  allied  to  Parae- 
umelea perlimbata  Guenee,  but  that  species  has  orange  mark- 
ings, and  a  row  of  long  sub-marginal  streaks  in  place  of  the 
brown  sub-marginal  lines  of  Paraeumelea  conspersata. 

It  is  pale  yellow,  thickly  speckled  with  brown,  with  black 
discoidal  cell.    Underside  whitish.    Expanse  :  45  millim. 

It  was  caught  at  Port  Alice  in  Uganda  on  June  24,  1898. 

(D)  One  butterfly  (described  by  the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild). 

Vide  "Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  iv.  April  1897. 

Charaxes  ansorgeiy  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Nymphalidae,  and  is  allied  to 
Charaxes  pollux,  but  the  white  band  of  the  upperside  of  the 
hindwing  distinguishes  this  species  at  a  glance  from  pollux. 

Forewing  rufous  chestnut,  with  marginal  ochreous  spots 
rounded.  Hindwing  with  a  complete  series  of  dark  ochraceous 
sub-marginal  spots ;  a  milky  white  median  ;  wing  outside  the 
band  black,  inside  the  band  brownish-black. 

It  was  caught  at  Patsho,  in  the  Nandi  country  of  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  on  December  11,  1896. 

(E)  Two  moths  (described  by  the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild). 

Vide  "  Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  iv.  August  1897. 

Ceranchia  ansorgei,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Saturniidae.  Differs  from  Ceranchia 
mollis  Butler,  its  nearest  ally,  especially  in  the  presence  of  the 
sub-marginal  white  band  on  both  wings. 

Forewing  hair-brown  ;  just  before  middle  of  wing  there  is 
an  almost  straight  transverse  white  band  ;  a  second  band  runs  in 


308  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


a  slight  curve  from  the  costal  margin  ;  upon  the  discocellulars 
there  is  a  small  eye-spot,  2  mm.  in  diameter,  consisting  of  a 
yellow,  a  black,  and  a  white  ring  surrounding  a  black  centre. 
Hindwing  white  from  base  to  apex  of  cell,  gradually  becoming 
dark-greyish  drab,  a  sub-marginal  white  band  edged  outwardly 
with  pale  yellow  ;  a  small  black  spot  at  end  of  cell.  Length  : 
forewing  40  mm.,  hindwing  29  mm. 

Only  one  specimen,  a  male,  of  this  rare  moth  has  been  caught, 
at  the  Kiboko  river,  British  East  Africa,  on  November  5,  1896. 

ALgocera  ansorgei,  sp.  no  v. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Agaristidae,  and  is  closely  allied  to 
^Egocera  menete  Cram.,  but  has  a  narrower  and  differently 
marked  forewing.  The  hindwing  as  in  ^Egocera  rubida  Feld., 
but  the  border  and  the  central  spot  deeper  in  colour. 

Costal  and  inner  margins  are  dusted  over  with  creamy  bun0 
scales  ;  nervules  close  to  the  fringe  with  metallic  scales. 

It  was  caught  at  Muani  in  British  East  Africa  on  November 
11,  1896. 

(F)  Nine  moths  (described  by  Mr.  W.  Warren,  M.A.,  F.E.S.) 
Vide  "  Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  iv.  August  1897. 

Agraptochlora  nigricornzs,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Geometrinae. 

Forewings  :  deep  grass-green  without  markings ;  costa  deep 
ochreous.  Hindwings  :  wholly  green.  Face,  palpi,  and  fore- 
legs deep  red  ;  antennae  with  the  shaft  reddish,  pectinations 
blackish  ;  thorax  and  base  of  abdomen  deep  green.  Expanse  : 
24  millim. 

It  was  caught  on  Mombasa  Island  in  October  1896. 

Eucrostes  impunctata,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Geometrinae. 

Forewings  :  apple-green,  marginal  line  crimson,  fringe 
snow-white.  Face  and  palpi  red,  thorax  green,  abdomen 
ochreous  with  snow-white  red-edged  dorsal  spots.  Expanse  : 
15  millim. 

Caught  several  on  Mombasa  Island  in  October  1896. 

It  is  distinguished  by  the  entire  absence  of  the  dark  cell-spot. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  309 


Craspedia  sagittilinea,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Sterrhinae. 

Forewings  :  ochreous  with  an  olive  tinge  ;  a  row  of  distinct 
black  marginal  spots  ;  fringe  greyish-ochreous  ;  cell-spot  black. 
Hindwings  :  the  same,  but  the  dark  cell-spot  is  surmounted  by  a 
round  spot  of  snow-white  raised  scales.    Expanse  :  26  millim. 

It  was  caught  on  Mombasa  Island  in  October  1896. 

It  is  remarkable  for  the  dense  and  rough  scaling. 

Chloroclystis  grisea,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Tephroclystiinae. 

Forewings  :  ochreous,  suffused  with  grey  and  tinged  with 
rufous  ;  basal  patch  with  traces  of  waved  grey  lines  through 
them  ;  fringe  chequered  light  and  dark  grey.  Underside  pale 
grey.    Expanse  :  16  millim. 

It  was  caught  on  Mombasa  Island  in  October  1896. 

Eulype  (?)  disparata,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Hydriomeninae. 

Forewings  :  glossy,  leaden  grey ;  three  transverse  broadish 
lines  white ;  minute  dark  cell-spot.  Hindwings  :  white,  fringe 
ochreous-grey.    Expanse  :  28  millim. 

The  antennae  of  the  male  are  lamellate  and  subserrate. 

One  male  and  one  female  were  caught  at  Nandi  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate  in  December  1896. 

Plerocymia  nigrocellata,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Hydriomeninae. 

Forewings  :  uniform  glossy  grey  ;  cell-spot  oblique,  velvety 
black.  Hindwings  :  hardly  paler,  without  markings  of  any  kind. 
Expanse  :  32  millim. 

Two  males  and  one  female  were  caught  at  Nandi  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate  in  December  1896. 

Hyostornodes  nubilatat  sp.  nov. 

This  very  rare  moth  has  been  classed  as  a  new  genus 
(Hyostornodes). 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Semiothisinae. 

Forewings  :  whitish,  thickly  dusted  and  striated  with  dark 
grey,  lines  starting  from  dark  costal  spots.  Hindwing  with  black 
cell-spot.    Expanse  26  millim. 

One  male  and  one  female  were  caught  at  Muani  in  British 
East  Africa  in  December  1896. 


3io  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Trysindeta  subspersa,  sp.  now 
This  very  rare  moth  has  been  classed  as  a  new  genus 
(Trysindeta). 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Ennominas. 

Forewings  :  pale  straw  colour,  marginal  dots  brown,  cell-spot 
dark  brown.    Expanse  :  32  millim. 

It  was  caught  at  Xandi  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate  in 
December  1896. 

Zamarada  ansorgei,  sp.  now  (Plate  I.  fig.  5). 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Ennominas.  This  species  is 
certainly  related  to  Guenee's  secutaria  (Stegania)  from  Abyssinia, 
but  does  not  in  all  points  agree  with  his  description  ;  that,  how- 
ever, was  made  from  a  single  female. 

Forewings  :  pale  yellowish-ochreous  ;  cell-spot  brown  ;  a  row 
of  dark  marginal  dashes.  Head,  thorax,  and  abdomen  ochreous. 
Expanse  :  20  millim. 

It  was  caught  at  the  Kiboko  river  in  British  East  Africa  in 
November  1896. 

(G)  Two  moths  (described  by  the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild). 
Vide  "  Xovitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  w  March  1898. 

Nudaurelia  ansorgei,  sp.  no  v.  (Plate  I.  rig.  4). 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Saturniidae  ;  distinguished  from  the 
allied  species,  especially  by  the  post-discal  bands  of  the  forewing 
being  curved  anteriorly,  the  ante-median  band  being  angulate, 
and  the  black  outer  band  of  the  hindwing  being  i\  millim.  wide. 

Upperside  :  forewings  chestnut-brown,  speckled  all  over  with 
black  scales.  About  one-fourth  from  the  base  the  wing  is 
crossed  by  a  black  line.  At  the  apex  of  cell  is  a  round  eye, 
consisting  of  a  vitreous  dot  surrounded  by  a  broad  ring  of 
tawny  ochraceous  and  enclosed  by  a  narrow  line  of  dull  whitish- 
pink.  Half-way  between  this  eye  and  the  outer  margin  the  wings 
are  crossed  by  a  black  transverse  line.  Hindwings  :  basal  two- 
thirds  brownish-pink,  crossed  between  middle  and  base  by  an 
indistinct  black  band.  In  the  centre  of  the  wing  is  a  large  eye, 
having  a  vitreous  centre,  outside  this  a  dark  yellow  broad  ring, 
then  a  narrower  black  one,  followed  by  a  dark  red  one,  the 
whole  enclosed  by  an  outside  whitish-pink  ring.  A  little  beyond 
the  eye  the  wings  are  crossed  by  a  broad  black  sinuous  band, 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  311 


edged  on  the  inner  side  with  a  narrow  grey  line.  Outer  third  of 
wings  chestnut,  freckled  with  black  like  forewing. 

Underside  :  ante-median  bands  absent ;  eye-spot  of  forewing 
as  large  as  above,  but  with  a  black  ring  between  the  tawny  ochra- 
ceous  central  ring  and  outer  whitish-pink  one.  Hindwing  from 
post-discal  black  line  towards  base  pinkish-grey ;  eye-spot  reduced 
to  a  vitreous  dot  surrounded  by  a  broad  tawny  ochraceous  ring. 

Antennae  dark  brown  ;  basal  part  of  stalk  yellow.  Head, 
thorax,  and  abdomen  tawny  ochraceous. 

Size  as  Nudaurelia  nictitans  Fabricius. 

Of  this  rare  moth  only  one  specimen,  a  male,  has  been 
caught,  at  Masindi,  in  Unyoro,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  on 
April  30,  1897. 

Pseudaphelia  ansorgei,  sp.  nov.  (Plate  I.  fig.  8). 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Saturniidae. 

The  two  spots  at  the  end  of  the  cell  of  both  wings  of 
apollinaris  are  absent  in  ansorgei,  being  replaced  on  both  wings 
by  a  black  dot  just  behind  the  origin  of  vein  5,  which  has,  however, 
on  the  underside  a  yellow  centre ;  fringe  fuscous.  Post-discal  line 
of  hindwing  closer  to  cell  than  to  outer  margin  of  wing. 

It  was  caught  at  Masindi,  in  Unyoro,  in  the  Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate, on  April  15,  1897. 

(H)  Two  moths  (described  by  Mr.  W.  Warren,  M.A.,  F.E.S.). 
Vide  "  Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  v.  March  1898. 

X  author  hoe  co  nchata)  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Hydriomeninae. 

Forewings  :  with  the  ground-colour  yellowish-white,  suffused 
and  dusted  with  fulvous,  and  crossed  by  numerous  darker 
tremulous  lines ;  cell-spot  black ;  pairs  of  small  black  dashes 
along  the  margin  at  the  ends  of  the  veins. 

Hindwings  :  whitish,  with  dark  cell-spot  and  exceedingly 
faint  traces  of  a  dark  post-median  line  ;  fringe  yellowish,  with  the 
marginal  spots  as  in  forewings. 

Palpi  long,  thick,  and  roughly  haired.  Thorax  and  abdomen 
greyish-ochreous ;  the  face  and  palpi  brownish.  Expanse : 
26  millim. 

Two  males  were  caught  in  Nandi,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate, 
in  December  1896. 


312 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Eiirytkecodes  impunctata,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  sub-family  Ennominae.  It  appears  to 
be  quite  distinct  from  any  of  the  forms  of  Eurythecodes 
flavidinaria. 

Forewings  :  pale  yellow  with  faint  brownish  freckling  ;  the 
lines  grey-brown  ;  cell-spot  blackish. 

Hindwings  :  with  a  curved  and  sinuous  post-median  line. 
Expanse  :  28  millim. 

Two  males  were  caught  at  Kampala  in  Uganda  in  January 
1897. 

(I)  One  butterfly  (described  by  Mr.  Guy  Marshall).  Vide 
"  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London, 
1897,"  p.  13. 

Teracolus  ansorgei,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Pieridae. 

Upperside  :  light  ochreous  with  black  markings.  Forewing  : 
pattern  and  colouring  similar  to  that  of  Teracolus  aurigineus 
Butler,  except  in  the  following  points  : — 

(a)  There  is  no  trace  of  the  whitish-grey  patch  at  base,  it 

being  replaced  by  slight  blackish  clouding  ; 

(b)  The  discal  zigzag  black  band  is  narrower,  and  ends 

abruptly  on  inner  nervure. 

Hindwing  :  ground-colour  as  in  forewing,  base  with  very 
slight  fuscous  clouding. 

Underside  :  pattern  exactly  like  that  of  Teracolus  vesta 
Reiche,  but  the  ground-colour  of  the  forewing  is  somewhat 
lighter.  Hindwing  :  pale  yellow ;  a  longitudinal  ray  from 
base  in  cell,  and  a  shorter  one  above  it  deep  pink.  A  thin 
black  line  runs  along  extreme  hind  margin  of  both  wings, 
which  is  present  in  Teracolus  vesta  but  absent  in  Teracolus 
aurigineus. 

This  is  a  most  interesting  species,  combining  as  it  does  the 
upperside  colouring  of  Teracolus  aurigineus  with  the  underside 
colouring  of  Teracolus  vesta,  being  at  the  same  time  quite 
distinct  from  either  species. 

It  was  caught  on  January  5,  1894,  in  German  East  Africa. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  313 


(J)  Eleven  butterflies  (described  by  Mr.  H.  Grose  Smith,  B.A., 
F.E.S.,  F.Z.S.  &c).  Vide  "Novitates  Zoologicae,"  vol.  v. 
August  1898. 

Pinacopteryx  helena,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Pieridae. 

Upperside  :  both  wings  slightly  greenish-white.  Anterior 
wings  with  an  outer-marginal  rather  broad  black  band,  broadest 
at  the  apex  ;  costal  margin  narrowly  black,  and  a  small  black 
dot  at  the  end  of  the  cell. 

Underside  :  anterior  wings  white,  with  the  apical  area  broadly 
and  outer  margin  more  narrowly  pale  yellowish-green  ;  a  small 
black  dot  at  the  end  of  the  cell.  Posterior  wings  pale  yellowish- 
green,  with  a  curved  row  of  dusky  lunular  markings  crossing  the 
wings  in  the  middle  of  the  disc.    Expanse  :  if  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Kabras,  in  Kavirondo,  in  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 

Acrcea  dissociata,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidae. 

Upperside  :  anterior  wings  ashy  grey,  semi-hyaline  ;  a  narrow 
pink  streak  in  the  middle  of  the  inner  margin.  Posterior  wings 
pink,  except  at  the  base,  which  is  rather  broadly  dusky  grey  ;  an 
irregular  row  of  black  spots  surrounds  the  cell ;  a  rather  large 
spot  in  the  cell,  and  a  cluster  of  spots  near  the  inner  margin 
towards  the  base,  some  of  which  merge  in  the  dusky  basal 
area. 

Underside  :  anterior  wings  pinkish  dull  brown,  posterior 
wings  pale  tawny  ;  the  disc  is  traversed  by  a  very  broad  chestnut- 
brown  band.    Expanse  :  2J  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Patsho,  in  the  Xandi  country,  in  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 

Acr<za  univtaculata,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidas. 

Differs  from  Acraea  quirina  Fabr.  in  the  absence  of  spots 
on  both  sides  of  both  wings,  except  on  the  underside  of  the 
posterior  wings,  where  there  is  one  spot  in  the  cell  near  the 
base.    On  the  upperside  the  basal  tawny  area  is  rather  more 


3H  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


extended,  thus  resembling  Acraea  cerasa  Hew.,  and  on  the 
posterior  wings  it  extends  lower  towards  the  anal  angle  ;  both 
wings  are  dusky  grey  at  the  base.    Expanse  :  2  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Kabras,  in  Kavirondo,  in  the  Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate, in  December  1896. 

Acrcea  disjuncta,  sp.  now 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidae.  Nearest  to  Acraea  cydonia 
Ward  and  Acraea  flava  Dewitz,  but  smaller  than  either  of 
those  species. 

Upperside  :  dark  brown.  Anterior  wings  with  a  pale  tawny 
band  crossing  the  wings,  as  in  Acraea  cydonia  Ward,  but  divided 
between  the  two  upper  median  nervules  by  a  blackish-brown 
irregular  band,  which  partially  covers  the  interspace  between 
the  two  upper  median  nervules,  but  is  narrower  than  in  Acraea 
cydonia  Ward  and  Acraea  flava  Dewitz.  Posterior  wings 
with  the  basal  three-fourths  light  brown  and  outer  fourth  dark 
brown.    Expanse  :  if  inches. 

It  was  caught  in  the  Xandi  country  in  the  Uganda  Protec- 
torate in  December  1896. 

Acrcea  ansorgei,  sp.  no  v. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidae. 

Upperside  :  anterior  wings  dark  brown,  with  a  rather  bright 
tawny  band  from  the  costa  crossing  the  end  of  the  cell,  thence 
becoming  wider  to  the  inner  margin  ;  towards  the  apex  is  a 
bright  tawny  spot  near  the  costa,  divided  into  three  by  the 
veins,  and  a  quadrate  spot  above  the  upper  median  nervule 
nearer  the  outer  margin.  Posterior  wings  bright  tawny,  be- 
coming dusky  at  the  base. 

Underside  :  dusky  pale  brown  with  the  transverse  tawny 
band  indistinct.  Posterior  wings  with  the  disc  crossed  by  an 
indistinct  irregularly  undulated  dusky  brown  band,  inside  which, 
but  outside  the  cell,  are  two  small  black  spots,  a  similar  spot 
in  the  middle  of  the  cell,  two  in  the  interspace  above  the  sub- 
costal nervure,  one  on  the  shoulder,  and  six  or  seven  others 
near  the  inner  margin  below  the  base  of  the  cell.  Expanse: 
if  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Xandi  Station,  in  the  Xandi  country,  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  315 


Acrcea  conjunct  a,  sp.  no  v. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidae. 

Upperside  :  both  wings  dull  brown.  Anterior  wings  with  a 
transverse  tawny  band  resembling  the  band  of  Acraea  nandina, 
but  not  extending  to  the  costal  margin  ;  the  subapical  spots  as 
in  A.  nandina,  but  smaller.  Posterior  wings  crossed  in  the 
middle  by  a  suboval  tawny  band  ;  in  this  band  are  a  black  spot 
near  the  costa  and  two  smaller  spots,  one  above  and  the  other 
below  the  discoidal  nervule. 

Underside  :  both  wings  resemble  A.  nandina,  but  on  the 
posterior  wings  the  space  beyond  the  undulated  band  is  much 
darker  ;  the  spots  are  arranged  as  in  A.  nandina.  Expanse  : 
\\  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Nandi  Station,  in  the  Nandi  country,  in  the 
Uganda  Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 

Acrcea  anacreontica,  sp.  no  v. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Acraeidae. 

It  differs  from  Acraea  anacreon  Trim,  in  several  respects. 
On  the  upperside  of  the  anterior  wings  the  black  discal  and  cellu- 
lar spots  are  larger.  On  the  underside  of  the  posterior  wings 
the  spots  in  the  discal  row  and  those  nearer  the  base  are  respec- 
tively more  confluent,  forming  two  irregular  bands,  the  space 
between  which  is  uninterruptedly  pink,  which  colour  forms  an 
irregular  band  extending  from  the  costal  to  the  inner  margins  ; 
the  outer  marginal  row  of  pale  fulvous  spots  is  narrower  and 
bordered  inwardly  by  very  narrow  black  lunules.  Expanse  : 
&  if  inches,  £  2  inches. 

The  male  specimen  was  caught  at  Patsho  and  the  female  at 
Rau,  both  in  the  Nandi  country,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  in 
December  E896. 

Junonia  rauana,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Nymphalidae  ;  it  is  closely  allied  to 
Junonia  Kowara  (Ward),  Junonia  Sinuata  (Plotz),  and  Junonia 
aurosina  (Butler),  but  it  has  the  outer  margins  of  anterior 
wings  less  falcate,  and  the  bands  on  the  upperside  considerably 
broader. 

Upperside  :  both  wings  dark  brown,  crossed  by  a  common 


3i6  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


pale  brown  band,  three  minute  dots  in  the  band  between  the 
median  nervules  and  a  white  subapical  spot ;  the  basal  dark  area 
is  not  interrupted  by  paler  markings.  Posterior  wings  with  a 
row  of  six  small  dots  in  the  pale  band. 

Underside  :  with  dark  bands  and  markings  closely  resembling 
Junonia  Kowara  (Ward).    Expanse  :  if  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Rau,  in  the  Nandi  country,  in  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 

Mycalesis  nandina,  nom.  nov. 

[I  would  suggest  the  name  Mycalesis  nandina  for  the  Mycalesis 
ansorgei  Grose  Smith,  to  prevent  any  possible  confusion  with 
Mycalesis  ansorgei  Sharpe. — W.  ].  Axsorge,  September  1898.] 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Satyridae  ;  in  shape  it  resembles 
Mycalesis  elionas  Hew. 

Upperside  :  both  wings  velvety  dark  brown,  slightly  paler 
towards  the  outer  margins. 

Underside  :  both  wings  with  the  basal  three-fourths  dark 
velvety  brown,  the  outer  fourth  paler  brown  with  a  row  of  spots 
crossing  the  disc  of  both  wings,  the  spots  being  surrounded  by 
slightly  greyish-brown  rings.  On  the  anterior  wings  the  spots 
are  five  in  number.  On  the  posterior  wings  is  a  row  of  seven 
spots,  of  which  the  four  uppermost  are  the  smallest,  centred  with 
white  dots.  The  posterior  wings  are  more  acute  at  the  anal 
angle  than  is  usual  in  the  African  section  of  this  genus.  Ex- 
panse :  if  inches. 

It  was  caught  at  Patsho,  in  the  Nandi  country,  in  the  Uganda 
Protectorate,  in  December  1896. 

Mycalesis  fluviatilis,  sp.  nov. 

It  belongs  to  the  family  Satyridae,  and  is  near  to  Mycalesis 
dubia  Auriv. 

Upperside  :  dark  brown,  with  an  indication  of  a  paler  sub- 
marginal  line  on  the  posterior  wings. 

Underside  :  both  wings  with  the  basal  half  darker  brown 
than  the  outer  half  ;  towards  the  apex,  in  a  paler  area,  are 
two  contiguous  ocelli,  of  which  the  upper  is  the  larger,  and 
is  surrounded  by  a  fulvous  ring  ;  one  large  ocellus  is  situate 
between  the  two  lowest  median   nervules,  surrounded  by  a 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  317 


pale  ring.  On  the  posterior  wings  a  row  of  seven  ocelli  crosses 
the  disc  ;  the  ocelli  are  surrounded  by  pale  brown  rings.  The 
outer  margins  of  both  wings  are  rather  deeply  indented. 
Expanse  :  if  inches. 

It  was  caught  in  the  Subugo  Forest,  in  the  Uganda  Protec- 
torate, in  December  1896. 

Everes  kedonga,  sp.  no  v. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Lycaenidae. 

Upperside  :  anterior  wings  bluish-grey,  with  silvery-white 
veins.  Posterior  wings  pale  silvery-blue,  with  a  submarginal  row 
of  round  black  spots  of  uniform  size,  except  at  the  anal  angle, 
where  there  are  two  small  dots  ;  the  outer  edge  of  the  spot  is 
narrowly  white,  and  the  outer  margin  is  narrowly  dark  grey  ;  one 
slender  black  tail. 

Underside  :  grey.  Anterior  wings,  with  discal  and  sub-basal 
spots,  arranged  almost  as  in  Everes  fischeri  Eversm.  and  Everes 
filicaudis  Pryer.  Posterior  wings  with  sub-basal  and  discal 
spots  surrounding  the  cell,  closely  resembling  those  species. 
Cilia  of  both  wings  greyish-white.    Expanse  :  f  inch. 

It  was  caught  at  the  second  Kedong,  in  the  Uganda  Protec- 
torate, in  November  1896. 


(K)  Two  Longicorn  beetles  (described  by  Mr.  C.  J.  Gahan,  M.A., 
of  the  British  Museum,  Natural  History).  Vide  "  Annals 
and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,"  Ser.  7,  vol.  ii.  July 
1898. 

Xystrocera  ansorgei,  sp.  nov.  (Plate  I.  fig.  2). 

Head,  prothorax,  and  underside  of  body  reddish-brown  in 
colour.  Elytra  bone-white  in  colour,  but  marked  with  a  large 
number  of  small  rounded  fuscous  spots  ;  the  surface  of  the 
elytra  presents  a  number  of  minute  granules,  each  of  which 
bears  a  short  seta,  while  close  to  each  granule  is  a  small  shallow 
puncture. 

This  species  of  Xystrocera  may  be  easily  recognised  by  the 
peculiar  and  unusual  colour  of  the  elytra. 
Long.  25,  lat.  millim. 

Only  one  specimen,  a  female,  caught  in  Uganda. 


3i« 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Compsomera  ansorgei,  sp.  nov.  (Plate  I.  fig.  3). 

This  species  is  very  closely  allied  to  Compsomera  nigricollis 
Gah.,  which  it  resembles  exactly  in  the  markings  of  the  elytra, 
with  the  exception  that  the  metallic-blue  colour  in  the  type  of 
Compsomera  nigricollis  is  here  replaced  by  metallic-green.  It 
differs  chiefly  from  Compsomera  nigricollis  in  having  the  head, 
legs,  and  antennae  quite  black  in  colour. 

Long.  26,  lat.  7  millim. 

Only  one  specimen,  caught  in  Uganda. 

(L)  One  butterfly  (described  by  the  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild). 
Vide  "The  Entomologist,"  June  1897. 

Papilio  mimeticus,  sp.  nov. 
It  belongs  to  the  family  Papilionidae.  This  most  remarkable 
butterfly  is  closely  allied  to  Papilio  rex  Oberth.  ;  but  while  that 
species  is  almost  the  exact  mimic  of  Melinda  formosa  Salv.  and 
God.,  Papilio  mimeticus  mimics  Melinda  morgeni  mercedonia 
Karsch. 

5  Forewings  :  differ  from  Papilio  rex  in  having  the  basal 
area  deep  chestnut  instead  of  orange-rufous  ;  in  this  chestnut 
area  is  a  longitudinal  pale  streak  behind  cell,  not  present  in 
typical  Papilio  rex. 

Hindwings  :  One  of  the  most  striking  differences,  however, 
between  Papilio  rex  and  Papilio  mimeticus  is  that  while  in  Papilio 
rex  the  ground-colour  of  the  hindwings  is  uniform  black,  in 
Papilio  mimeticus  the  disc  of  the  wing  is  dull  chestnut,  this 
colour  extending  along  the  abdominal  margin  to  near  apex  of 
vein. 

Underside  :  The  two  anterior  white  marginal  spots  of  Papilio 
rex  are  absent  in  Papilio  mimeticus. 

Oberthiir,  in  his  original  description  of  Papilio  rex  (Bull.  Soc. 
Ent.  Fr.  1886,  p.  114),  says  "Abdomen  black  above,  white  on 
sides  and  below;"  but  in  the  specimen  of  Papilio  rex  from  Uganda 
Protectorate  the  underside  is  black,  with  a  narrow  but  distinct 
median  white  line,  and  in  this  agrees  entirely  with  Papilio  mime- 
ticus. 

It  was  caught  at  a  streamlet  which  crosses  the  caravan  route 
not  far  from  Msarosaro  in  Uganda  on  December  28,  1896. 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  319 


(M)  The  Hon.  Walter  Rothschild  has  very  kindly  sent  me, 
October  1898,  the  description  of  two  new  species  of 
lepidoptera  (a  butterfly  and  a  moth),  which  I  captured 
in  Unyoro  and  at  the  Eldoma  Ravine  respectively  : — 

Kallima  ansorgei  Rothsch.,  sp.  no  v.  (Plate  I.  fig.  1). 

Forewing  more  produced  at  apex  than  in  rumina,  hindwing 
with  a  long  tail,  slightly  curved  inwards. 

Upperside  :  forewing,  basal  two-thirds  plumbeous  blue- 
green,  metallic,  this  area  evenly  and  slightly  convex  outwardly  ; 
a  narrow  indistinct  band  from  costal  margin  to  vein  3,  where 
it  approaches  the  metallic  area,  pale  brown  covered  with  metallic 
blue-green  scaling  ;  interspace  between  this  band  and  metallic 
area  black,  rest  of  marginal  region  dark  brown,  a  series  of 
indistinct  dots,  the  uppermost  of  which  has  a  white  dot  at  its 
discal  side,  and  a  submarginal,  indistinct,  narrow  band  blackish- 
brown.  Hindwing,  basal  two-thirds  as  on  forewing  ;  marginal 
area  brown,  with  a  blackish-brown  submarginal  band ;  between 
veins  2  and  3  there  is  an  oblong  eye-spot  of  2  and  3  mm.  width, 
consisting  of  an  outer  ochraceous  ring  that  encircles  an  out- 
wardly black,  discally  brown-red  space  with  a  minute  blue 
centre  ;  a  smaller  eye-spot  behind  vein  2. 

Underside :  blackish  broccoli-brown,  powdered  over  with 
single  white  scales.  Forewing,  4  undulate  lines  in  cell,  a  fifth 
upon  disco-cellulars,  another  beyond,  2  lines  behind  cell,  and 
a  zigzag  line  from  costal  to  inner  margin,  14  mm.  distant  from 
apex  of  wing  and  10  mm.  from  tip  of  vein  ib  ;  a  series  of  small 
post-discal  black  dots  with  white  centres,  the  one  between  veins 
2  and  3  forming  nearly  an  eye-spot ;  a  series  of  thin,  small, 
more  or  less  curved,  black  submarginal  spots.  Hindwing,  an 
indistinct  undulate  line  from  costal  margin  across  middle  of 
cell  to  vein  ib ;  a  distinct  narrow  band  straight  across  the 
disc  from  costal  margin  (9  mm.  from  the  tip  of  vein  8)  to  tail, 
consisting  of  a  black  line  thinly  bordered  with  pale  blue  and 
green  proximally,  shaded  at  both  sides  with  dark  brown  ;  post- 
discal  spots  as  on  forewing,  surrounded  with  paler  scaling, 
nearly  forming  eye-spots,  the  spot  behind  vein  3  as  large  as 
above,  much  paler,  with  a  pale  ochraceous  centre  ;  submarginal 


32o  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


spots  linear,  the  one  behind  vein  2  extending  to  tip  of  tail 
obviously  bordered  grey  outwardly. 

Length  of  forewing  40  mm.  Length  of  hindwing  from  base 
of  cell  to  tip  of  tail  41  mm. 

Hab.  Kasokwa,  Unyoro,  i°  caught  on  the  2nd  of  November 

i897. 

Buncza  ansorgei  Rothsch.,  sp.  nov. 

$  Allied  to  B.  acetesy  Wester.,  from  West  Africa.  Wings 
above  grey,  without  sprinkling  of  black  scales.  Forewing  with 
a  small  vitreous  spot  at  the  end  of  the  cell,  barely  2  mm.  in 
width  ;  an  irregular,  indistinct,  blackish-grey  band  across  middle 
of  cell  to  inner  margin,  the  cellular  portion  lunate,  bordered 
greyish-white  outwardly ;  a  greyish-black  line  from  apex  of 
wing  to  inner  margin  as  in  acetes,  but  much  thinner,  bordered 
outwardly  by  a  broad  band  of  greyish-white  scaling  which  is 
convex  between  the  veins.  Hindwing  without  band  in  basal 
half ;  the  eye  as  in  acetes,  but  the  outer  ring  greyish- white,  with- 
out pinkish  tint ;  black  band  beyond  eye  thinner  than  in  acetes, 
contiguous  with  the  eye  from  second  discoidal  to  first  median 
nervule  ;  costal  area  from  base  to  band  and  eye  brighter  red 
than  in  acetes,  the  red  not  extending  beyond  middle  of  cell  and 
upper  discoidal  vein  respectively.  Underside  whitish-grey,  with 
a  slight  bumsh  tint.  Forewing  red  beyond  cell  from  base  to 
near  post-discal  blackish-brown  line,  the  latter  much  thinner 
than  in  acetes ;  no  black  irregular  mark  at  basal  side  of  vitreous 
spot,  but  a  very  obscure,  rather  broad,  brownish  band  from 
costal  margin  straight  across  the  vitreous  spot  to  inner  margin. 
Hindwing,  a  tiny  black  dot  between  costal  and  subcostal 
nervures  near  base,  as  in  acetes ,  the  obscure  median  band  of 
forewing  continued  across  hindwing,  here  situated  at  the  basal 
side  of  the  small  vitreous  spot ;  outer  discal  line  much  narrower 
than  in  acetes. 

Head  and  legs  as  in  acetes ;  thorax  above  and  below  con- 
colorous  with  base  of  wings  ;  abdomen  with  a  yellowish  tint  at 
the  edges,  below  slightly  darker  grey  than  breast ;  first  joint 
of  antennae  white  as  in  acetes ;  apical  processes  of  joints  shorter 
than  in  acetes. 

Hab.  Eldoma  Ravine,  22nd  March  1898  ;  1  9 . 


BUTTERFLIES,  MOTHS,  AND  BEETLES  321 


Dr.  K.  Jordan,  the  eminent  entomologist,  wrote  to  me, 
October  1898,  about  my  collections  which  are  deposited  at 
Tring,  as  follows  : — 

"  Your  collections  are  of  great  scientific  interest  for  two 
reasons.  Firstly,  the  number  of  species  which  are  new,  or  of 
which  only  a  few  specimens  are  known  to  exist  in  other  collec- 
tions, is  remarkably  large.  Your  list  of  novelties  will  certainly 
be  trebled  when  the  whole  of  the  material  you  have  collected 
has  been  worked  out.  Unfortunately  there  was  too  little  time 
at  our  disposal  to  supply  you  with  a  complete  list,  as  you 
suggested,  of  the  whole  of  your  collection.  Such  new  forms  as 
have  been  described  by  Mr.  Rothschild,  Mr.  Grose  Smith,  and 
Mr.  Warren,  were  limited  to  certain  families  of  the  lepidoptera  ; 
but  your  other  specimens  will  be  carefully  examined  and  made 
known  to  science  in  due  time.  Where  you  have  collected,  the 
countries  have  been  comparatively  little  explored  as  regards 
butterflies  and  moths  ;  and  lepidopterists  must  be  gratified  at 
your  important  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  the  lepidoptera 
of  those  regions. 

"  Uganda  and  the  Nandi  country  have  yielded  the  greater 
proportion  of  your  novelties  and  rare  species  ;  here  we  have  the 
true  East  African  fauna  with  a  small  mingling  of  the  West 
African,  but  mostly  somewhat  modified,  species  ;  whereas,  in 
the  more  remote  Unyoro,  the  number  of  West  African  forms  is 
already  very  large.  Many  species  which  appeared  to  you  very 
rare,  because  you  found  them  only  in  Unyoro,  are,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  rather  common  West  Coast  and  Congo  insects.  The 
discrepancy  between  the  fauna  of  Unyoro  and  Uganda  is,  for 
example,  very  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  Pieridce,  there  being 
in  your  collection  very  few  species  of  Teracolus  from  Unyoro, 
while  there  are  splendid  series  of  a  great  number  of  species  of 
this  pretty  genus  from  the  countries  farther  east. 

"The  following  are  some  of  the  choice  captures  you  made,  to 
mention  but  a  few  of  them  : — Both  sexes  of  Kallima  jacksoni, 
a  good  series  of  Melinda  mercedonia  and  Melinda  formosa,  in- 
clusive of  their  rare  females  ;  a  series  of  Papilio  jacksoni  and 
Papilio  mackinnojii ;  some  specimens  of  Papilio  pelodurus,  also 
Papilio  pringlei  (<£  and  ?);  Acrcea  poggei ;  Pseudacrcea  .kiinowi  ; 
Charaxes  pithodorus,  &c,  &c. 

"A  most  interesting  and  noteworthy  specimen  is  undoubtedly 
the  female  of  Papilio  rex,  which  you  captured  in  the  spring  of 

x 


322  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


this  year  at  the  Eldoma  Ravine,  where,  on  a  former  journey,  you 
secured  the  male  Papilio  rex.  Entomologists  will  be  interested 
to  know  that  this  female  of  Papilio  rex  does  not  differ  essentially 
in  pattern  from  the  male,  except  in  some  details  which  do  not 
affect  very  much  the  general  appearance. 

"  Among  the  Heterocera  your  Saturniidce  are  interesting. 
There  is  also  a  fine  show  of  the  day-flying  moths  belonging  to 
XanthospilopteryXy  including  some  undescribed  forms.  Your  dis- 
covery in  those  regions  of  a  West  African  Hawkmoth  of  peculiar 
appearance,  Lephosthethus  dumoulini,  or  a  close  ally  of  it,  equally 
deserves  to  be  noticed. 

"  Yet,  however  rich  in  rare  forms  your  collection  is,  its  greater 
scientific  value,  in  my  opinion,  consists,  secondly,  in  your  having 
given  the  exact  date  and  locality  of  capture  of  every  specimen, 
and  in  your  having  marked  all  the  individuals  you  caught  in 
copula.  With  such  material  to  work  with,  the  entomologist  is 
able  to  investigate  questions  of  geographical  distribution  and 
to  study  seasonal  variation  and  individual  variability  ;  whereas, 
unfortunately,  many  collectors  confine  themselves  merely  to 
recording  the  country  where  their  specimens  were  caught." 


APPENDIX. 


BIRDS. 


APPENDIX. 


BIRDS. 

ON  THE  BIRDS  COLLECTED  BY  DR.  ANSORGE 
DURING  HIS  RECENT  STAY  IN  AFRICA. 

By  ERNST  HARTERT. 

HAVING  been  asked  by  Dr.  Ansorge  to  name  the  birds 
he  collected  in  Africa,  I  herewith  give  a  list  of  the 
two  hundred  and  sixteen  species  he  obtained. 
This  collection  is  scientifically  of  much  interest,  not 
only  because  it  contains  some  species  which  hitherto  have  not 
been  described,  but  because  he  has  found  a  number  of  birds  of 
which  formerly  only  one  or  two  specimens  were  known,  some 
of  them  having  been  unique  in  the  Berlin  Museum.  By  record- 
ing the  localities  where  he  found  them,  he  has  extended  con- 
siderably our  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  certain  species, 
and  in  other  cases  he  has  added  valuable  confirmation  of  facts 
which  hitherto  were  open  to  doubt.  Very  interesting  forms, 
among  others,  are  the  Francolinsy  of  which  Dr.  Ansorge  col- 
lected some  very  rare  ones  ;  the  new  Guinea-fowl,  which  I 
have  called  Numida  ansorgei ;  the  rare  Woodpecker,  Campothera 
tceniolcema ;  the  Swift  (No.  73),  a  tropical  ally  of  our  common 
swift  of  Europe  ;  several  of  the  Flycatchers  and  Shrikes  ;  the 
new  Pyromelana  and  some  of  the  other  Weaver-birds ;  the 
Larks  ;  a  number  of  Sun-birds ;  some  of  the  Timeliidcz,  and 
others.  During  his  former  stay  in  Uganda  Dr.  Ansorge  dis- 
covered a  new  Barbet,  described  as  Tricholcema  ansorgii  by 
Shelley  in  Bull.  B.  O.  Club.  vol.  v.  p.  3  (1895). 

Tring,  Septeinber  1898. 


325 


326        UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


(TERXS.) 
i.  Hydrochelidon  leucoptera  (Schinz) 
Pongo  and  Kibero  on  Lake  Albert,  August  and  October  1897. 

(GEESE.) 
2.  Chenalopex  cegyptiacus  (L.) 

$  Campi-ya-Simba  (the  camp  of  lions),  British  East  Africa. 
%*  Iris  red-brown.  Bill  pinkish  with  brown  edges,  feet  rosy 
flesh-colour." 

(DUCKS.) 
3.  Nettion  punctatum  (Burch.) 

Lake  Xaivasha,  Uganda  Protectorate,  April  and  November. 
"  Feet  slate-blue  with  a  more  or  less  distinct  green  streak  along 
the  middle."  In  the  female  the  upper  tail-coverts  are  ?zot  undu- 
lated with  narrow  black  lines.  The  abdomen  is  paler,  less  rufous 
than  in  the  male,  and  hardly  differs  from  the  breast  in  colour. 
The  wing  is  about  15  mm.  shorter  (<$  150-156  mm.,  9  143-145 
mm.).  The  adult  male  agrees  perfectly  with  Salvadori's  de- 
scription. 

4.  Xettwn  capensc  (Gm.) 

$  ad.  Lake  Xakuru,  Uganda  Protectorate,  30/11/1896.  "  Iris 
red.  Feet  yellow-brown  with  black  web.  Bill  pink  with  black 
base." 

(WADERS.) 
5.  CEdicnemus  vermiculatus  Cab. 
Kibero,  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert  in  Unyoro,  g  9 
21/8/97.    "  ^ris  lemon-yellow.    Feet  pale  green,  yellow  towards 
the  thigh.    Bill  blackish,  soft  parts  on  sides  from  nostrils  to  base 
and  basal  half  of  mandible  greenish-yellow." 

6.  Hoplopterns  spinosus  (L.) 

Kibero,  Unyoro,  2910/97.  3  11  Iris  purple-red,  bill  and 
feet  black." 

7.  sEgialitis  Jiiaticola  (L.) 
Kibero  (Unyoro  ,  12/10/97.    Migrant  from  Europe. 


BIRDS 


327 


8.  Tringa  subarquata  (Glild.) 

Kibero  (Unyoro),  12/10/97.    Migrant  from  the  North. 

9.  Glottis  nebularius  (Gunn.) 

Kibero  (Unyoro),  13/10/97.    Migrant  from  the  North. 

10.  Tringoides  hypoleucus  (L.) 

Kibero  (August,  October),  Fajao,  and  Masindi  in  Unyoro  ; 
also  Mombasa,  British  East  Africa.  Migrant. 

11.  Totanus  ochropus  (L.) 

Kampala  (Uganda),  February.    Migrant  from  Europe. 

12.  Totanus  glareola  (L.) 
Masindi  (Unyoro),  April.  Migrant. 

13.  Totanus  stagnatilis  (Bechst.) 
Lake  Naivasha,  Uganda  Protectorate.  November. 

14.  Pavoncella  pugnax  (L.) 
Lake  Naivasha,  Uganda  Protectorate.  November. 

15.  Tringa  minuta  Leisl. 
Lakes  Nakuru  and  Naivasha,  Uganda  Protectorate.  November. 

(BUSTARDS.) 

16.  Otis  me/anogaster  Riipp. 

3  ad.  Kiboko  river,  British  East  Africa,  7/1 1/96.  "  Iris 
orange,  feet  yellowish-white,  bill  white  with  black  stripe  along 
the  culmen.    Length  from  tip  of  beak  to  tip  of  toe  31 J  inches." 

17.  Eupodotis  kori  (Burch.) 
Bondoni  in  Ukamba,  15/4/97.    British  East  Africa. 


328 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


(RAILS.) 
18.  Limnocorax  niger  (Gm.) 
Four  specimens,  two  males  and  two  females,  from  Masindi, 
Unyoro,  May  and  June  1897.  "  Iris  bright  red,  a  narrow  flesh- 
red  circle  round  the  eye  (eyelid),  feet  copper-red,  bill  light 
green."  The  wing  of  the  female  is  about  1  cm.  shorter  than 
that  of  the  male. 

19.  Phyllopezus  africanus  (Gm.) 

$  ad.  Fajao,  Unyoro.  "  Iris  chocolate-brown.  Feet  light 
slate-blue.    Bill  light  slate-blue.    Bare  forehead,  slate-blue." 

(SAND-GROUSE.) 

20.  Pterocies  gutturalis  A.  Smith. 

&  April  1898.  Campi-ya-Simba  (the  lion  camp),  in  Ukamba, 
British  East  Africa.  "Iris  dark  brown,  feet  blackish-grey,  bill 
bluish-grey." 

(STORKS  AND  HERONS.) 

21.  Hagedashia  hagedash  (Lath.) 

Fajao,  Unyoro,  10/12/97.  "Iris  light  straw-yellow."  Wing 
360-365  mm.,  bill  150  (  9  ),  180  (<$  )  mm. 

22.  Ibis  cethiopica  (Lath.) 

ad.  Lake  Nakuru,  Uganda  Protectorate,  23/3/98.    "  Iris 
dark  brown." 

23.  Bubulcus  ibis  (L.) 
$  Pongo,  Lur  country,  north-west  shore  of  Lake  Albert, 
24/10/97. 

24.  Ardetta payesi  (Verr.) 

$  Kibero,  on  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  Unyoro,  15/8/97. 

I  believe  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  specimen  must  be  called 
A .  payesi  (Verr.).  It  agrees  with  A.pusilla  (V.)  in  most  characters, 
but  the  sides  of  the  head  and  neck  are  bright  cinnamon.  It  is 
certainly  not  A.  podiceps  (Bp.),  of  which  I  have  a  large  series. 
A.  payesi  is  as  yet,  according  to  Neumann  (J.  F.  O.  1898,  p.  284) 
only  on  record  from  South  and  West  Africa,  and  specimens  from 
there,  and  most  likely  other  parts,  have  hitherto  been  mixed  up 
with  A.  pusilla  or  A.  podiceps. 


BIRDS 


329 


(FLAMINGOES.) 
25.  P hcenicopterus  roseus  Pall. 
Common  on  Lake  Nakuru  (Uganda  Protectorate)  in  March. 
The  small  Phoen.  minor  was  not  to  be  found  in  March.  (See 
No.  26.) 

26.  Phoeniconaias  minor  (GeorTr.) 
Lake  Nakuru  (Uganda  Protectorate)  in  November,  in  large 
numbers.    Only  this  species  was  then  noticed,  instead  of  P. 
roseus. 

(PIGEONS.) 
27.  Vinago  calva  nudirostris  Sws. 
$  ad.  Fajao,  on  the  Victoria  Nile,  Unyoro.  "  Iris  :  inner- 
most rim  bright  light  blue,  shading  into  dark  grey  towards  the 
outside."  Salvadori  unites  the  forms  from  West,  Equatorial, 
and  East  Africa.  Neumann  separates  V.  calva  calva  and  V.  calva 
nudirostris,  making  V.  Salvador ii  a  synonym  of  the  latter.  Nudi- 
rostris would  be  the  northern  form. 

28.  Turtur  senegalensis  (L.) 

This  common  African  pigeon  is  represented  from  Ndi  (British 
East  Africa),  28/10/96  ;  and  from  Kampala  (Uganda),  various 
dates. 

29.  Turtur  damarensis  Finsch  &  Hartl.  (?  an  subsp.) 
9  Kampala  (Uganda),  10/1/97.  ?  Masindi  (Unyoro), 
16/6/97.  "  Iris  dark  brown,  a  narrow  yellow  edge  round  eyelid, 
feet  pink,  bill  black."  I  am  in  doubt  about  the  correctness  of 
the  above  nomination.  Specimens  in  Mus.  Tring  from  Lake 
Nyassa,  as  well  as  from  Western  Somaliland,  agree  inter  sef  but 
are  much  paler  on  abdomen  and  belly.  I  fancy  that  these  birds 
belong  to  a  new  sub-species,  but  more  material  is  necessary  to 
decide  about  this.  Count  Salvadori  has  also  enumerated  birds 
from  Ndi,  Pangani,  Ugogo,  Dar-es-Salaam,  Mombas,  as  damar- 
ensis ;  O.Neumann  records  it  from  Zanzibar,  Kibaya,  Kavirondo. 

30.  Chalcopelia  afra  (L.) 
One  skin  without  label,  with  green  wing-spots. 


33o        UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


31.  Oena  capensis  (L.) 

$  Mto-ya-mkuyuni  (Ukamba),  British  East  Africa,  13/11/96. 
"  Feet  red.  Bill  orange,  red  at  base."  This  little  pigeon,  so 
common  in  most  parts  of  Africa,  was  only  met  this  one  time. 
It  is  rare  on  the  East  African  coast,  but  very  common  in  the 
interior  (Neumann). 

(GAME-BIRDS.) 

32.  Francolinus  grant i  Hartl. 

$  Mtoto  Ndei,  British  East  Africa,  1/ 11/96.  "  Iris  red,  feet 
red-brown,  bill  black." 

33.  Francolinus  kirki  Hartl. 

$  Maharagwe-fundi,  in  the  Taru  desert,  British  East  Africa, 
23/10/96.  "  Iris  dark  red-brown,  feet  red,  bill  black."  Is  this 
really  a  distinct  species  ?  I  share  Mr.  Neumann's  doubts  in 
this  respect. 

34.  Francolinus  uluensis  Grant. 

This  species,  only  quite  recently  described  by  Mr.  O.  Grant, 
was  found,  in  April  1898,  on  the  Kiboko  river  and  at  Muani  in 
Ukamba,  British  East  Africa.  "  Iris  dark  brown,  feet  lemon- 
yellow,  bill  greenish-black,  yellow  at  base."  Only  three  females 
were  sent. 

35.  Francolinus  gedgei  Grant. 

Two  males,  one  from  Mondo  in  Uganda,  and  one  from 
Hoima  in  Unyoro.  The  latter  seems  to  be  younger,  its  iris  is 
described  as  dark  brown,  feet  orange-yellow  ;  while  of  the  former 
the  feet  were  copper-red,  black  in  front,  and  its  iris  red.  Maxilla 
black,  mandible  orange. 

Only  a  single  specimen  was  obtained  by  Mr.  Gedge  on  the 
Elgon  Plains  (Kavirondo),  where  it  is  common.  (Grant,  Ibis, 
1891,  p.  124,  id.    Handbook  Game-birds,  i.  p.  127.) 

36.  Francolinus  hubbardi  Grant. 
One  male,  River  Molo,  twelve  miles  south  of  the  equator, 
Uganda  Protectorate,  Ravine  district.     "  Iris  sepia-brown,  feet 
lemon-yellow,  bill  black  at  the  tip,  yellow  at  base." 


BIRDS 


33i 


Grant  (Bull.  B.  O.  Club.  vol.  iv.  p.  27,  id.  Handbook  Game- 
birds,  i.  p.  112)  described  it  in  1895  from  the  Nassa  district. 

37.  Pternistes  infuscatus  Cab. 

This  common  species  was  shot  at  Makindos,  Ukamba,  British 
East  Africa.    (See  Neumann,  J.  F.  O.  1898,  p.  302.) 

38.  Numida  reichenowi  Grant. 

$  $  shot  on  the  Kiboko  river  in  Ukamba,  British  East 
Africa,  26/4/98.  "  Iris  red-brown,  bill  and  feet  black."  The 
wattle  at  the  gape  seems  to  be  almost  quite  red. 

39.  Numida  ptylorhyncha  Less. 

A  female  and  a  young  male  from  Kitanwa,  2\  hours'  march 
from  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  Unyoro. 

Lesson,  who  was  evidently  a  very  poor  Greek  and  Latin 
scholar,  spelt  the  name  ptylorhyncha. 

40.  Numida  ansorgei,  sp.  now 

An  adult  male  of  a  guinea-fowl,  shot  at  Lake  Nakuru  (Uganda 
Protectorate),  on  March  28,  1898,  cannot  be  united  with  one 
of  the  described  forms.  It  stands  probably  somewhat  between 
N.  reichenowi  and  the  form  named  N.  intermedia  by  Oscar 
Neumann.  It  differs  from  N  reichenowi  in  the  form  of  the 
helmet,  the  high  ridge  of  caruncles  at  the  base  of  the  bill,  the 
broad,  not  narrow  and  not  hair-like  feathers  on  the  back  of  the 
neck,  and  the  colour  of  the  wattle  at  the  gape,  but  it  agrees 
with  this  species  in  the  form  of  the  wattle  at  the  gape  and  the 
barred  neck-feathers.  It  differs  from  N  intermedia  Neum.  in 
the  beak  being  blackish-green,  not  red,  the  larger  wattles  at  the 
gape,  and  their  colour,  and  probably  also  the  more  spotted 
chest.  The  type-specimen  has  on  the  hind-neck,  just  below  the 
head,  a  bunch  of  broad  pointed  black  feathers,  which  seem  to 
point  upwards ;  the  feathers  below  this  bunch  are  very  finely, 
but  regularly  barred  with  numerous  white  bars.  The  red  naked 
skin  on  the  nape  is  divided  by  a  narrow  black  line  in  the 
middle ;  the  wattle  at  the  gape  is  broad  and  largely  extended 
in  front  and  behind,  but  not  very  pendant ;  and  there  is  a  red 
spot  in  front  as  well  as  on  the  hind-tip.    "  Iris  red-brown." 


332 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


Wing  282  mm.,  tarsus  75,  middle  toe  without  claw  55,  helmet 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  bottom  34,  bill  24. 

From  A7.  coro?iatay  which  is  not  yet  known  to  occur  north 
of  the  Zambesi,  it  presents  many  points  of  difference,  notably 
the  bunch  of  feathers  on  the  hind-neck,  the  deep  black  ground- 
colour, the  form  and  colour  of  the  wattles. 

(BIRDS  OF  PREY.) 
41.  LopJwactus  occipitalis  (Daud.) 

$  ad.  Masindi,  Unyoro,  6  8,  97.  "Iris  golden-yellow,  feet 
lemon-yellow.  Bill  slate-blue,  black  towards  the  tip.  Cere 
greenish-yellow." 

42.  Circus  macrurus  (Gm.) 
$  juv.  Fovira,  Unyoro,  2/1/98.  "  Iris  orange-red,  feet  lemon- 
yellow." 

(PARROTS.) 

43.  Pceocephalus  rufiventris  (Riipp.) 
Voi  river  and  Mtoto  Xdei  in  British  East  Africa.  "  Iris  bright 
orange-red  in  both  sexes,  bill  and  feet  blackish." 

(ROLLERS.) 
44.  Eu?ystomus  afer  (Lath.) 
Kampala  (Uganda)  and  Kibwezi  (British  East  Africa). 


(PLANTAIN-EATERS.) 
45.  Turacus  hartlaubi  (Fisch.  &  Rchw.) 

^  9  Subugo  Forest,  Uganda  Protectorate,  6/12/96.  "  Iris 
chocolate-brown,  feet  black,  bill  red." 

46.  Schizorhis  Icucogaster  Riipp. 

$  ad.  Muani,  British  East  Africa,  11/11/96.  "  Iris  greenish- 
brown  ;  feet  black.    Bill  greenish-black." 


(COLIES.) 
47.  Coitus  leucotis  affi?tis  Shelley. 
In  1885,  in  the  Ibis,  p.  312,  Shelley  separated  from  "  Coitus 
leucotis  typicus"  of  which  he  says  that  it  inhabits  "  X.E.  Africa, 


BIRDS 


333 


southward  to  Kitui  in  Ukamba,"  a  form  which  he  called  Colius 
leucotis  affinis,  and  of  which  he  says  that  it  is  found  on  the 
"  Upper  White  Nile  to  Dar-es-Salaam/'  and  that  it  differs  from 
C.  leucotis  typicus  in  being  smaller,  and  in  having  the  neck  and 
back  generally  less  distinctly  barred,  the  white  on  the  throat 
and  sides  of  the  head  clearer,  the  tail-feathers  generally  slightly 
narrower.  He  adds  that  "  these  sub-species  appear  to  run  into 
each  other."  In  1892,  in  the  catalogue  of  Birds,  vol.  xvii.  p. 
342,  Dr.  Sharpe  separates  "  Colius  affinis "  as  a  sub-species  from 
C.  leucotis.  Of  the  latter  he  says  that  it  occurs  in  "  Abyssinia 
and  Bogosland,  south  to  Shoa,"  and  of  the  former  that  it  is  found 
from  the  "  White  Nile  district  to  Central  Africa,  and  thence  to 
Eastern  Africa."  In  1898  (Nov.  Zool.,  vol.  v.  p.  76)  I  was  able 
to  quote  what  I  called  C.  affinis  as  far  south  as  New  Heligoland 
in  German  East  Africa.  According  to  Reichenow  it  occurs  all 
over  German  East  Africa.  After  carefully  reviewing  the  available 
material,  I  find  that  there  are  two  forms  now  mixed  under  "  C. 
affinis,"  i.e.  a  smaller  form  from  the  drier  parts  of  East  Africa, 
and  a  larger  one  from  the  interior.  Shelley  (1.  c.)  had  already 
noticed  that  his  C.  leucotis  affinis  were  not  all  alike.  Both  forms 
have  been  found  by  Dr.  Ansorge.  One  from  Mombasa  Island 
(13.  X.  1896)  and  another  from  Maharagwe-fundi  in  the  Taru 
desert,  British  East  Africa  (24.  X.  1896)  are  true  affinis.  "  Iris 
dark  brown." 

The  three  forms  might  be  separated  as  follows  : — 

1.  Throat  and  neck  distinctly  and  strongly  barred,  some  bars 
indicated  on  the  whole  back,  wing  longer  (100  mm.),  ear-coverts 
silvery  grey  : 

C.  leucotis  leucotis  Riipp. 
(Abyssinia,  south  to  the  elevated  parts  of  Somaliland.) 

2.  Throat  and  neck  less  strongly  barred,  back  without  indica- 
tions of  bars,  wing  as  long  and  ear-coverts  of  the  same  colour  as 
in  leucotis : 

C.  leucotis  berlepschi,  subsp.  nov. 

(Central  Africa,  from  the  White  Nile  to  German  East  Africa.) 

3.  Throat  and  neck  less  strongly  barred  (as  in  berlepschi),  back 
without  bars,  wing  much  shorter,  90-94  mm.,  ear-coverts  of  a 
less  silvery-grey,  more  buffy  shade,  upper  and  under  surface 
generally  slightly  more  rufous  : 


UNDER   THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


C.  leucotis  affinis  Shelley. 
(Drier  eastern  districts  of  East  Africa — Bagamoyo,  Dar-es- 
Salaam,  Zanzibar,  Witu.) 

48.  Colius  leucotis  berlepschi  Hart. 

This  form  is  characterised  above,  the  type  being  from  New- 
Heligoland,  German  East  Africa.  Dr.  Ansorge  sent  specimens 
from  Masindi  in  Unyoro,  Hoima  in  Unyoro,  and  Kampala  in 
Uganda.  "  Iris  :  upper  brim  yellow  (or  yellowish-green),  lower 
half  greenish-yellow  (or  greenish-grey)."  This  is  rather  different 
from  C.  leucotis  affinis. 

This  form  is  named  in  honour  of  my  friend  Count  Berlepsch, 
who  has  lent  and  given  me  valuable  material  for  comparison. 

(HORNBILLS.) 

49.  Loplwceros  erythrorhynchus  (Tern.) 
$  Kinani,  British  East  Africa,  2/5/98.    "  Iris  light  yellow, 
feet  black,  bill  red,  mandible  black  towards  base,  base  yellow." 

50.  Loplwceros  melanoleuciis  (Licht.  sen.) 

3  ad.  Kibwezi,  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa,  28/4/98.  "  Iris 
whitish-yellow,  feet  black,  bill  red." 

(CUCKOOS.) 
51.  Centropus  superciliosus  H.  &  E. 
Kampala,  Uganda,  January. 

(HONEY-GUIDES*) 
52.  Indicator  indicator  (Gm.) 
A  male  in  moult  and  very  abraded  ;  Mondo,  Uganda,  25/12/96. 

(BARBETS.) 

53.  Melanobucco  (Pogonorhynchus)  irroratus  (Cab.) 
Mwachi,  two  days'  march  from  Mombasa,  and  Taru  (British 
East  Africa),  October  1896.    "  Iris  red-brown,  feet  and  bill 
black." 


BIRDS 


335 


54.  Trachyphonus  boehmi  Fischer  &  Rchw. 

$  Ndi,  British  East  Africa,  27/10/96.  "  Iris  chocolate-brown, 
feet  slate-green,  bill  slate-green. 

The  bird  figured  as  T.  boehmi  m  Reichenow's  "  Vogel  Deutsch- 
Ost-Afrika's,"  seems  to  be  T.  margaritatus. 

55.  Tricholcema  lacrymosum  Cab. 
9   Masongoleni,  British  East  Africa,  2/1 1/96. 

56.  Barbatula  affiuis  Rchw. 
$  Taru,  British  East  Africa,  22/10/96. 

57.  Barbatula  leucolcema  Verr. 
Mondo,  in  Uganda,  25/12/96.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown." 


(WOODPECKERS.) 

58.  Mesopicus  gcertan  (P.  L.  S.  Mull.) 
An  adult  male  and  a  young  one  from  Masindi  and  Fajao  in 
Unyoro,  13/1 1/97.  Has  no  sign  of  red  on  the  abdomen  or  breast, 
and  resembles  entirely  a  male  shot  by  the  writer  on  the  Benue. 
I  should  have  expected  M.  rhodeogaster ;  which  is  probably  not  the 
same  as  M.  spodocephalus,  at  Unyoro. 

59.  Dendropicus  zanzibari  Malh. 
$  ad.  (marked  $  erroneously).    Between  Maungu  mountain 
and  Voi  river,  British  East  Africa.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown,  feet 
greenish-grey,  bill  dark  slate-grey."     Probably  sub-species  of 
D.  guineensis  (Scop.)  =  D.  cardinalis  (Gm.)  =  D.  hartlaubi  Malh. 

60.  Campothera  tceniolcema  Rchw.  &  Neum. 
Subugo  Forest,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate.    "  Iris  red,  feet 
green,  bill  slate-bluish." 


(KINGFISHERS.) 
61.  Halcyon  semicceridea  (Forsk.) 
Kibero  (Unyoro),  12/10/97,  $.    "  Iris  dark  brown.    Bill  and 
feet  red."    Kibwezi,  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa,  29/4/98. 


336  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


62.  Halcyon  senegale7isis  (L.j 
c  Pongo,  Lur  country,  north-west  shore  of  Lake  Albert. 
There  are  apparently  several  sub-species  of  this  species,  but  H. 
cyanoleuca  cannot  possibly  be  a  sub-species  (  =  geographical  race) 
of  it,  for  it  occurs  in  many  parts  together  with  H.  senegalensis .  It 
is  either  a  species  or  a  stage  of  plumage  of  the  latter. 

63.  Halcyoji  chclicuti  (Stanley.) 
Mahaji  in  the  Lur  country  ;  Masindi  in  Unyoro  ;  Kitanwa  in 
Unyoro  ;  Mwachi,  two  days'  march  from  Mombasa,  in  British 
East  Africa.    "  Upper  bill  (maxilla)  slaty-brown  or  dark  reddish- 
brown  ;  under  (mandible)  red.    Iris  brown." 

64.  Corythomis  cyaiiostigma  \  Riipp.) 
Kibero  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Albert  and  Mruli  on  the  Kafu 
river  in  Unyoro. 

65.  Ceryle  rudis  (L.) 
Kibero  and  Mruli  (Unyoro). 


(BEE-EATERS.) 
66.  M  crops  bullockoidcs  A.  Smith. 
Lake  Xaivasha,  Second  Kedong,  and  First  Kedong. 

67.  M crops  apiastcr  L. 
c   Muani  (British  East  Africa  ,  11/11/96.     In  much  faded 
and  worn  plumage. 

68.  'Mcrops  albicollis  Vieill. 
Kampala  (Uganda)  and  Masindi  (Unyoro). 

(HOOPOES.) 

69.  Upupa  africana  Bechst. 
Mau  and  Kariandus  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate. 

70.  Irrisor  viridis  LichL) 
Kibwezi,  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa,  29  4  98. 


BIRDS 


337 


71.  Irrisor  jacksoni  Sharpe. 
ad.  Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate,  23/3/98.    u  Iris 
dark  brown,  feet  brick-red,  bill  blood-red."    (Salvin,   Cat.  B., 
Brit.  Mus.  XVI.,  PI.  3,  f.  1).    Wing  130  mm. 

72.  Rhinopomastes  cyanomelas  (Vieill.) 
6  ad.  Samburu,  fourth  camp  on  road  from  Mombasa  to 
Uganda. 

(SWIFTS.) 
73.  Apus  s/ie//ej/i  (Salved.) 

One  male  of  a  swift,  shot  at  Kakamaga's  on  March  12,  1898 
(Kavirondo),  belongs  to  A.  shelleyi.  It  closely  resembles  A.  apusy 
but  is  smaller ;  the  secondaries  are  decidedly  paler,  but  the 
difference  in  the  shape  of  the  rectrices  is  very  slight.  Wing 
145  mm.,  tail  70.  "  Iris  chocolate-brown,  feet  light  brown,  bill 
black." 

Very  little  is  known  about  this  swift,  which  must  be  resident 
in  some  parts  of  North-Eastern  Africa. 

74.  Tachornis  parvus  (Lcht.) 
Fovira  in  Unyoro,  January  12,  il 


(SWALLOWS.) 
75.  Hirundo  senegalensis  L. 
Masindi,  Unyoro,  27/6/97. 

76.  Hirundo  rustica  L. 
Kibero  (Unyoro)  in  October  ;  Kampala  (Uganda)  in  February. 

77.  Hirundo  gordoni  Jard. 

Road  between  Kampala  and  Port  Alice,  Uganda,  1 1/2/97. 
This  species  does  not  seem  to  be  recorded  so  far  east. 

78.  Hirundo  puella  Temm  &  Schleg. 
Mombasa  (British  East  Africa). 

79.  Co  tile  rip  aria  (L.) 
Kibero  in  Unyoro,  October. 


338  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


80.  Psalidoprocne  albiceps  Scl. 
First  Kedong,  British  East  Africa,  6/4/98. 


(FLY  CATCHERS.) 
81.  Platystira  cyanea  (S.  Mull.) 

Masindi,  Unyoro.  "  Wattle  above  eye  bright  red.  Iris  light 
blue-grey,  with  white  inner  margin.    Bill  and  feet  black." 

82.  Batis  orientalis  (Heugl.) 
Fajao  on  the  Victoria  Nile,  Unyoro.    "  Iris  bright  yellow." 

83.  Batis  senegalensis  (L.) 
Mombasa  Island,  Maji  Chumvi  (three  days'  march  from  Mom- 
basa), British  East  Africa. 

84.  Brady ornis pallidas  (v.  Mull.) 
Taru  desert,  British  East  Africa. 

85.  Bradyornis  murinus  F.  &  H. 
Kibwezi  in  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa. 

86.  Dioptrornis  fischeri  Rchw. 

Eldoma  Ravine  ;  Pashto  in  Xandi  (Uganda  Protectorate) ; 
March  1898.  "  Iris  dark  brown,  bill  and  feet  slate  colour."  The 
sexes  are  fully  alike. 

87.  Terpsiphone perspicillata  (Sw.) 
Taru  desert  and  First  Kedong,  British  East  Africa. 

88.  Tarsiger  stellatus  orientalis  Fisch.  &  Rchw. 
I  believe  T.  orientalis  to  be  a  poor  sub-species  of  T.  stellatus. 
The  difference  in  the  colour  of  the  upper  tail-coverts  stated  in 
].  F.  O.,  1884,  p.  57,  does  not  exist,  but  the  black  tip  to  the  tail 
is  a  little  wider,  and  the  yellow  breast  and  abdomen  somewhat 
paler.    Mau  (Uganda  Protectorate)  8/12/96. 


BIRDS 


339 


89.  Muscicapa  murina  (Fisch.  &  Rchw.) 
Eldoma  Ravine  ;  Subugo  Forest ;  Pashto  in  the  Nandi  country ; 
Fajao,  and  Mruli  on  the  Kafu  River,  in  Unyoro.    Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate.   (Perhaps  better  called  Alseonax  murina.) 

90.  Muscicapa  grisola  L. 

Mtoto  Ndei  and  Makindos  River,  British  East  Africa.  Novem- 
ber and  May  1st. 

91.  Campophaga  nigra  Vieill. 

Mwachi,  two  days'  march  from  Mombasa  (British  East  Africa), 
and  Nandi  (Uganda  Protectorate). 

92.  Elminia  teresita  Antin. 

Masindi  (Unyoro)  and  Kampala  (Uganda).  "  Iris  chocolate- 
brown,  bill  and  feet  black."  A  nestling  was  found  on  August  2, 
1897,  which  is  very  pale-bluish,  with  pale-brown  tips  to  the  wing- 
coverts  and  feathers  of  the  head. 

93.  M clcenornis  ater  Sundev. 
Kibwezi  in  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa,  29/4/98. 

94.  MelcEnornis  edolioides  (Swains.) 
Masindi,  Hoima,  and  Kaligire  in  Unyoro  ;  and  Kampala  in 
Uganda. 

(SHRIKES.) 
95.  Sigmodus  tricolor  (Gray.) 
?  Mazera's  (nine  miles  from  Mombasa),  British  East  Africa, 
17/10/96.    "  Iris  orange,  feet  red,  bill  orange-red." 

96.  Prionops  talacoma  A.  Smith. 
Maji  Chumvi  (three  days'  march  from  Mombasa),  Ndi,  and 
Kibwezi  (British  East  Africa) ;  Fajao  (Unyoro).    "  Iris  yellow  in 
the  old  birds,  greenish-brown  in  the  young,  feet  orange,  bill 
black." 

97.  Nilaus  minor  Sharpe. 
Taru,  British  East  Africa. 


34Q  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


98.  Eurocephalus  riippelli  Bp. 
Taru  desert,  22/10/96.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown." 

99.  Dryoscopus  major  (Hartl.) 
Masindi  in  Unyoro,  April  and  June.    "  Iris  red-brown." 

100.  Lanius  candatus  Cab. 

Kiboko  River,  British  East  Africa,  November.  "  Iris  dark 
brown." 

101.  Lanius  collaris  humeralis  (Stanl.) 
Masindi  in  Unyoro,  April  and  May.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown." 

102.  Lanius  excubitorius  Des  Murs. 
Kamunina  in  Unyoro,  June.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown.", 

103.  Dryoscopus  gambensis  (Licht.) 

Fajao  on  the  Victoria  Nile,  below  the  Murchison  Falls, 
Unyoro. 

3  ad.  "  Iris  bright  orange,  feet  slate-blue,  bill  black." 

104.  Lanius  dorsalis  Cab. 

$  ad.  Voi  River,  in  British  East  Africa,  25/10/96. 

This  species,  although  described  long  before  1883,  is  left  out 
of  vol.  viii.  of  the  Cat.  B.  Brit.  Mus. 

The  peculiar  pattern  of  the  under-wing  seems  to  be  un- 
described.  The  lesser  under  wing-coverts  as  well  as  the  under 
primary-coverts  are  black,  while  the  remainder  of  the  under 
wing-coverts  are  white. 

105.  Laniarius  nigrifrons  Rchw. 
$  ad.  Fort  Smith,  Kikuyu,  British  East  Africa. 

106.  Lanius  collurio  L. 

Kiboko  River  and  Kibwezi  in  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa, 
April  26th  and  28th,  1898,  both  adult  males,  bills  and  wings 
rather  small. 


BIRDS 


341 


107.  Telephoutcs  minutus  Hartl. 

c?  Kiwalogoma,  Uganda,  26/12/96.  "  Iris  red,  feet  and  bill 
black." 

108.  Telephonus  senegalus  (L.) 

Taru  and  Mwachi  (two  days  from  Mombasa)  British  East 
Africa. 

109.  Laniarius  erythrogaster  Cretschm. 
Saridzi,  Unyoro,  April.    "  Iris  light  yellow." 

110.  Dryoscopus  rufinuchalis  Sharpe. 

A  $  from  Kinani,  British  East  Africa,  belongs  to  this  species, 
described  from  Somaliland.  I  doubt  its  distinctness  from  D. 
ruficeps,  also  described  from  Somaliland.  "  Iris  chocolate-brown, 
feet  dark  greenish-brown,  bill  black." 

(ORIOLES.) 
in.  Oriolus  rolleti  Salvad. 

Ndi,  British  East  Africa,  27/10/96.  "  Iris  red,  feet  slate- 
green,  bill  reddish-brown." 

(DRONGOS.) 
112.  Dicrurus  afer  (Licht.) 
Mazera's,  nine  miles  from  Mombasa,  British  East  Africa. 

(STARLINGS.) 
113.  Lamprotornis  purpuropterus  (Rlipp.) 

Hoima  in  Unyoro  ;  Pongo  in  the  Lur  country,  on  west  shore 
of  Lake  Albert.    u  Iris  whitish-yellow." 

114.  Lamprocolius  sycobius  Hartl. 

Samburu,  British  East  Africa,  20/10/96.    "  Iris  bright  orange." 

115.  Lamprocoluis  chalybeus  Ehr. 

3  Eldoma  Ravine,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate,  24/3/98.  "  Iris 
bright  yellow." 


342  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


116.  Lamprocolius purpureus  (P.  L.  S.  Miill.) 
One  specimen,  marked  "  $ ,"  from  Wakibara  in  Unyoro, 
24/4/97,  is  so  much  smaller  than  all  specimens  of  L.  purpureus 
known  to  me  that  I  believe  it  belongs  to  a  different  form,  but 
more  specimens  are  desired  to  decide  about  it. 

117.  Cosmopsarus  regius  Rchw. 

This  finest  of  all  African  birds  was  shot  at  Kinani,  in  British 
East  Africa,  on  the  2nd  of  May  1898.  "  Iris  is  light  yellow, 
feet  black,  bill  black."  The  female  differs  from  the  male  only 
in  having  the  wing  2  or  3  mm.  shorter. 

118.  Spreo  superbus  (Riipp.) 

Ukamba,  and  Gilgil  River,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate.  "  Iris 
light  yellow." 

119.  Spreo  fischeri  (Rchw.) 

One  female  of  this  very  rare  bird,  first  described  by  Professor 
Reichenow  as  "  Notauges"  then  placed  by  Sharpe  under  "  Spreo," 
where  it  belongs,  and  afterwards  by  the  same  author  in  "  Pholi- 
dauges"  was  shot  at  Kinani  (British  East  Africa)  in  May  1898. 
"  The  iris  is  light  yellow,  feet  and  bill  black."  The  bird  named 
5.  fischeri  in  the  British  Museum,  and  described  in  Cat.  B.  xiii. 
p.  667,  is  not  S.  fischeri,  but  a  widely  different  new  species.  No 
specimen  of  S.  fischeri  is  in  the  British  Museum. 

120.  Dilophus  carunculatus  (Gm.) 
Campi-ya-Simba,  8/1 1/96,  British  East  Africa. 

(WEAVER-BIRDS.) 

121.  Quelea  cardinalis  ( H  artl. ) 

Masindi,  Unyoro,  June  and  July  1897. 
$  "  Iris  dark  brown,  feet  light  brown,  bill  black." 
9  "  Iris  brown,  feet  light  brown,  maxilla  light  brown,  man- 
dible brownish-yellow." 

122.  Anaplectes  melanotis  (Lafr.) 
Masongoleni,  British  East  Africa,  2/11/96.    "Iris  in  both 
sexes  red-brown,  bill  orange." 


BIRDS 


343 


123.  Mi elanopteryx  n  ig  errima  ( V i  e i  1 1 . ) 

Masindi  in  Unyoro,  Magogo  in  Kaviron'do,  Kiwalogoma  in 
Uganda. 

$  ad.  "  Iris  yellow,  feet  brown,  bill  black." 

124.  Hyphantornis  bohndorffi  (Rchw.) 
Fovira  and  Fajao  in  Unyoro  ;  Kampala  in  Uganda. 

3  ad.  "  Iris  red."    $  ad.  "  Iris  red."    Juv.  "  Iris  hazel-brown." 

125.  Hyphan  torn  is  bojeri  Cab. 

Mombasa  Island,  British  East  Africa,  12/10/96.  "  Iris  dark 
brown." 

126.  Hyphantornis  fischeri  (Rchw.) 

Masindi  and  Fajao  in  Unyoro,  and  Kibero  (on  the  east  shore 
of  Lake  Albert)  in  Unyoro.    "  Iris  brown." 

Thirteen  eggs  of  Hyphantornis  fischeri  show  again  the  same 
stupendous  variation  of  colours  known  to  occur  in  most  African 
weaver-birds.  Some  are  bluish-green,  others  bluish-green  with 
brown  spots,  or  plain  dark  rufous-brown,  or  plain  brownish 
olive-brown,  almost  like  a  nightingale's  egg  ;  or  brown  spotted 
with  darker  brown.  They  are  all  from  one  colony,  in  which 
no  other  species  was  observed.  These  birds,  according  to  Dr. 
Ansorge,  fed  chiefly  on  the  "  matama"  (Kaff re-corn).  The  males 
were  noticed  to  be  the  most  vigorous  nest-builders,  selecting 
the  extreme  tip  of  a  branch,  on  which  they  fastened  the  strip  of 
grass  they  had  brought  in  their  beak.  The  female  occasionally 
came  and  inspected  the  work,  and  the  male  sometimes  left  its 
work  unfinished  and  vigorouslv  began  another  nest.  The  female 
occasionally  took  part  in  bringing  some  softer  grass  for  the 
inner  lining  of  the  nest.  When  the  nest  was  finished,  the  male 
most  viciously  persecuted  every  other  bird  that  ventured  to 
alight  on  his  chosen  twig,  but  it  never  came  to  any  real  fighting 
between  them.  In  other  species  of  Hyphantornis  both  sexes  were 
observed  to  be  equally  busy  in  building. 

127.  Hyphantornis  vitellinus  (Licht.) 
"  Mto-ya-mkuyuni,"  in  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa.  (This 
specimen  is,  I  think,  the  true  vitellinus,  and  not  reichardi.) 


344 


UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


128.  Sitagra  ocularia  crocata  (Hartl.) 
Masindi,  Unyoro,  May  1897. 

129.  Heteryphantes  emini  (Hartl.) 
Masindi,  Unyoro. 

130.  PIoccjis  pachyrhynchus  Rchw. 

Masindi,  Unyoro.    (Probably  a  sub-species  of  superciliosus.) 

131.  Dinemellia  dinemelli  ( Riipp.) 
Taru  desert  and  Kinani,  British  Easf  Africa. 

132.  Py)'omelana  franciscana  (Isert.) 

Kafu  River,  Unyoro  ;  Kibero  ;  Naruangu,  a  short  day's  march 
from  Mruli  on  the  Kafu  River. 

133.  Pyromelana  flammiaps  (Swains.) 
$  ad.  Mtibua,  Usoga  country,  Uganda  Protectorate,  19/12/96. 

134.  Pyromelana  ansorgei,  sp.  now  (Plate  II.  fig.  2.) 

This  evidently  very  distinct  new  species  seems  to  be  nearest 
to  P .  f?-iedric/ise?ti  Fisch.  and  Rchw.  from  Masai  Land,  but  differs 
in  being  very  much  larger,  in  having  a  narrower  scarlet  band 
across  the  lower  throat,  and  apparently  also  in  having  the  back 
and  rump  black,  not  scarlet.  The  upper  part  of  the  back  (the 
interscapulary  region)  only  is  orange,  all  the  remainder  of  the 
back  is  black  with  pale  buff  edges  to  the  feathers.  It  is  a 
question  whether  these  feathers  are  those  of  the  fully  adult  bird, 
but  there  is  no  sign  of  their  not  being  so.  Under  tail-coverts 
black  with  whitish-buff  tips.  Wing  90  mm.,  tail  66,  culmen  19, 
tarsus  25  mm.  "  Iris  dark  brown,  feet  chocolate-brown,  bill 
black."     Sj  Masindi,  Unyoro,  17/6/97. 

135.  Urobrachya pJicenicea  (Heugl.) 

Mtibua,  Usoga  country,  Uganda  Protectorate.  The  bill  of 
this  specimen  is  smaller  than  in  one  from  "  Mtoni,"  collected  by 
Bohndorff. 


New  species  of  African  bird 


i.— See  page  350,  No.  180. 
2-—        h        344,  No.  134. 


BIRDS 


345 


136.  Penthetriopsis  macrura  (Gm.) 
Ntuti  (Singo),  Uganda,  and  Eldoma  Ravine  (Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate).    A  young  bird  from    Masindi  (Unyoro)  probably 
belongs  to  this  species  as  well. 

137.  Penthetria  eques  (Hartl.) 

Muani  and  Mto-ya-mkuyuni  (Ukamba),  British  East  Africa. 
"  Bill  light  blue." 

138.  Coliuspasser  ardens  concolor  Cass. 

Specimens  from  Masindi  in  Unyoro  (wing  75  to  76  mm.) 
have  no  sign  of  a  red  patch  on  the  foreneck. 

139.  Lagonosticta  brunneiceps  Sharpe. 

Four  adult  males,  one  immature  male,  and  one  female,  from 
Masindi  (Unyoro),  Kibero  (Unyoro),  Kampala  (Uganda),  and 
Kibwezi  (British  East  Africa),  must,  geographically,  belong  to 
L.  brunneiceps  ;  on  the  other  hand,  however,  some  of  them  are 
as  red  above  as  L.  senegala.  It  is  possible  that  even  among  the 
forms  from  N.E.  Africa  to  Transvaal,  to  all  of  which  Sharpe 
applies  the  name  L.  brunneiceps,  there  exist  several  forms.  Un- 
fortunately Dr.  Sharpe  did  not  say  which  of  all  these  he  would 
have  regarded  as  the  type,  no  specimen  being  marked  type  (see 
Cat.  B.  xiii.  pp.  277,  278).  In  Nov.  Zool.  v.  p.  72  I  named  the 
form  from  the  Upper  Shire  River  L.  Senegala  rendalli,  but  I  now 
doubt  its  distinctness  from  L.  brunneiceps  Sharpe  (in  his  wide 
sense).  By  a  mistake  the  length  of  the  wing  of  rendalli  has 
been  given  as  42  mm.,  it  should  have  been  47.  The  wings  of 
Dr.  Ansorge's  males  measure  49  to  50  mm. 

Dr.  Sharpe  and  Prof.  Reichenow  are  apparently  also  at 
variance  with  regard  to  L.  brunneiceps,  the  former  restricting 
L.  senegala  to  Senegambia,  the  latter  calling  specimens  from 
Kakoma,  Udjiji,  and  Bukoba  L.  senegala,  others  from  Kakoma  (?), 
Kingani,  Bagamoyo,  Tabora,  Usambara,  Karema,  &c,  L.  brun- 
neiceps. This  can  hardly  be  right ;  for  it  is,  in  my  opinion,  most 
unlikely  that  L.  senegala  and  L.  brunneiceps  are  well  defined 
species  ,  they  are  probably  sub-species.  My  rendalli  is  perhaps  a 
smaller  and  somewhat  brighter  form,  if  separable  from  brun- 
neiceps. 


346  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


140.  Zonogastris  nielba  (L.) 
Makindos  River,  British  East  Africa,  4/1 1/96. 

141.  Philceterus  arnauai  (Bp.) 
Campi-ya-Simba,  British  East  Africa,  8/1 1/96. 

142.  Estrilda  bengala  (L.) 

Mtoto  Ndei  and  Kibwezi  (British  East  Africa),  and  Kibero 
(Unyoro). 

143.  Estrilda  nonnula  Hartl. 

(=  E.  tenerrima  Rchw.)  A  fine  series  from  Masindi  (Unyoro) 
and  Kampala  (Uganda).  E.  tenerrima  is  the  adult  of  E.  nonnula. 
"  Bill  black  with  a  red  streak  on  each  side  of  maxilla  and 
mandible." 

144.  Estiilda  paludicola  Heugl. 

Masindi  in  Unyoro  ;  Kampala  in  Uganda.  It  seems  from 
these  specimens  that  the  adult  male  has  an  orange-red  bill,  the 
female  and  young  a  brownish-black  one. 

145.  Estrilda  astrild  minor  (Cab.) 

Campi  Mbaruk,  Kampala,  Masindi  (Uganda  Protectorate). 
Young  birds  have  a  blackish  bill.  Typical  astrild  from  South 
Africa  is  larger  and  with  much  darker  throat  and  sides  of  the 
head. 

146.  Estrilda  rhodopyga  Sundev. 

6  £  £  Kibero,  Unyoro,  13/10/97.  The  males  have  the  "bill 
chocolate-brown  ; "  the  female  "  chocolate  brown  with  a  pink 
patch  at  each  corner  of  mandible  and  pink  edge  to  maxilla." 

147.  Granatina  tan thinogaster  (Rchw.) 
One  pair  from  Mto-ya-mkuyuni  in  Ukamba,  British  East 
Africa,  13/11/96.     "Iris  red,  bill  red,  feet  slate."     Narrow  red 
ring  round  eye. 

148.  Spermestes  cucullata  Sw. 
Mahaji  in  the  Lur  country,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Albert ; 
Masindi  in  Unyoro  ;  Kampala  in  Uganda. 


BIRDS 


347 


149.  Spermestes  stigmatopJiora  Rchw. 
One  male  of  this  rare  bird  from  Fajao,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Victoria  Nile,  just  below  the  Murchison  Falls,  8/12/97.   a  Iris 
dark  brown,  feet  black,  bill  light  blue."    (See  Reichenow,  Vbgel 
Deutsch-Ost-Afrika's,  p.  154.) 

150.  Vidua  vidua  (L.) 

This  is  one  of  the  commonest  African  birds,  generally  called 
Vidua  principalis  or  serena,  the  proper  name  of  which,  however, 
seems  to  be  as  above. 

A  series  from  Masindi,  Hoima,  and  Kampala,  Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate. 

(FINCHES.) 
151.  Serinus  reichenow i  Salvad. 
Kikuyu,  British  East  Africa. 

152.  Serinus  icterus  (Bonn,  and  Vieill.) 
Evidently  common  in  Masindi,  Unyoro.     On  January  21, 
1898,  a  nest  was  found  with  one  normally  coloured  young  and 
one  albino  ("  Iris  pink,  feet  pale  flesh-colour,  bill  pale  yellow")  of 
a  canary-yellow  colour  with  white  wings. 

153.  Serinus  flaviventris  (Sw.) 

Masindi  (Unyoro)  and  Campi-ya-Banda  (Uganda  Protec- 
torate). 

154.  Passer  swainsoni  (Riipp.) 

A  series  of  sparrows  from  Unyoro  and  Uganda  seem  to  be 
rather  sivainsoni  than  diffusus. 

(WAGTAILS.) 

155.  Motacillaflava  L. ;  and  156.  Motacilla  campestris  Pall. 

Yellow  Wagtails,  of  these  two  species,  were  frequently  met 
with  at  different  places  in  Uganda  and  Unyoro  from  October  to 
March.  It  is  possible  that  one  or  two  belong  to  a  third  form  of 
Yellow  Wagtails,  but  this  cannot  be  decided  with  certainty,  as 
the  specimens  in  question  are  young  birds. 


348  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


157.  Motacilla  alba  L. 

Common  at  Fajao  and  Fovira  in  Unyoro  from  November  to 
January. 

158.  Motacilla  vidua  Sun  dev. 
Fajao  and  Masindi  in  Unyoro  ;  Kampala  in  Uganda. 


(PIPITS.) 
159.  Macronyx  tenellus  Cab. 

<$  ad.  Taru,  British  East  Africa,  21/10/96.  "  Iris  dark  brown, 
feet  dark  brown,  bill  brown." 

This  beautiful  and  rare  Pipit  has  first  been  described  as  a 
Macronyx ,  from  which  it  differs  in  its  smaller  size  and  more 
gracile  form  ;  but  in  the  "  Catalogue  of  Birds,"  vol.  xiii.,  it  was 
removed  to  the  genus  Anthusy  while  later  on  Dr.  Sharpe  created 
for  it  the  new  genus  Tmetothylacus. 


160.  Macronyx  croceus  (Vieill.) 

This  common  gigantic  form  of  Pipit  was  shot  at  Mruli  on  the 
Kafu  River  in  Unyoro,  and  at  Mtibua  in  the  Usoga  country, 
Uganda  Protectorate. 

161.  Anthus  trivialis  (L.) 
?  Masindi  in  Unyoro,  January  i< 


(LARKS.) 
162.  Mirafra  fischeri  (Rchw.) 
$  Samburu  (fourth  camp  from  Mombasa  en  route  to  Uganda), 
British  East  Africa,  20/10/96.     "  Iris  dark  orange-brown,  feet 
flesh-colour,  bill  brown." 

163.  Mirafra  africana  A.  Smith. 

3  Kiboko  River,  Ukamba,  British  East  Africa,  25/4/98. 
"  Iris  ochre." 

164.  Mirafra  intercedens  Rchw. 

S   9  Kiboko  River,  British  East  Africa,  April  and  November. 


BIRDS 


349 


165.  Mirafra  hypermetra  (Rchw.)* 

Thisirare  Lark  was  shot  on  the  Voi  River  in  British  East  Africa 
on  25/10/96.  "  Iris  chocolate-brown,  feet  flesh-colour,  bill  slate- 
brown,  maxilla  much  darker." 

Reichenow  has  created  the  new  genus  Spilocorydon  for  this 
bird,  but  I  see  no  reason  for  removing  it  from  Mirafra. 

166.  Mirafra  pcecilosterna  (Rchw.)  (1879.) 

This  rare  Lark  was  procured  at  Kinani  and  on  the  Tsavo 
River,  British  East  Africa,  in  October.  "  Iris,  feet,  and  bill 
brown." 

The  narrow  and  long  soft  bill  remove  this  species  very  much 
from  all  Mirafrcey  and  it  will  probably  be  necessary  to  create  a 
new  genus  for  it. 

(BULBULS.) 
167.  Pycnonotus  nigricans  minor  Heugl. 

<?  ad.  Masindi,  Unyoro,  12/6/97,  an(^  Ukamba  (British  East 
Africa). 

168.  Pycnonotus  dodsoni  Sharpe. 

Makindos  River,  British  East  Africa,  4/1 1/96. 
This  skin  agrees  with  one  of  the  co-types  of  P.  dodsoni  in  the 
Tring  Museum. 

169.  Andropadus  eugenius  Rchw. 

?  ad.  Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate.  "  Iris  dark 
brown,  feet  yellowish-brown,  bill  black."  A  young  bird  from 
Rau'(Nandi),  Uganda  Protectorate. 

170.  Andropadus flavescens  Hartl. 
Mombasa  Island,  British  East  Africa.    "  Iris  yellow." 

171.  Phyllostrephus  strepitans  Rchw. 
Mombasa  Island,  British  East  Africa,  10/10/96. 

(SILVER-EYES.) 
172.  Zosterops  stuhlmanni  Rchw. 
A  series  of  this  rare  bird  from  Masindi  and  Fajao  in  Unyoro. 
"  The  iris  is  orange-red,  feet  and  bill  blackish." 


35Q  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


(A  specimen  from  Kiwalogoma  in  Uganda  is  deeper  yellow 
and  seems  to  belong  to  another  species.) 

173.  Zosterops  kikuyaisis  Sharpe  (?)'■ 
A  female  from  Eldoma  Ravine  (Uganda  Protectorate)  seems 
to  belong  to  this  species.  Its  iris  is  "  sepia  brown."  With  a 
series  one  might  be  able  to  find  differences  from  typical  kiku- 
yensis.  The  yellow  mark  on  the  forehead  seems  to  be  larger 
in  extent. 

(SUN-BIRDS.) 
1 74.  Cinnyris  verticalis  vii'idisplendens  Rchw. 
Masindi  in  Unyoro,  May  and  June.    "  Iris  dark  brown." 

175.  Cinnyris  osiris  suahelicus  Rchw. 
Kampala,  Uganda. 

176.  Cinnyris  cupreus  (Shaw.) 
Common  at  Masindi  (Unyoro). 

177.  Cinnyris  falkensteini  Fisch.  and  Rchw. 
Masindi  in  Unyoro.    "  Iris  dark  brown." 

178.  Cinnyris  mediocris  Shell. 

$  ad.  Subugo  Forest,  Uganda  Protectorate,  6/12/96.  "Iris 
chocolate-brown,  bill  and  feet  black." 

179.  Cinnyris  reichenowi  Sharpe. 
The  considerably  shorter  bill  and  the  deep  purple  upper 
tail-coverts  and  breast-band  distinguish  this  bird  without  diffi- 
culty from  mediocris.    Rau,  Nandi  country,  Uganda  Protectorate, 
12/12/96. 

180.  Cinnyris  ansorgei,  sp.  now  (Plate  II.  fig.  1). 

An  adult  male,  shot  at  Nandi  Station  in  the  Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate on  March  16,  1898,  differs  from  C.  reichenowi  Sharpe 
in  the  great  extension  of  the  somewhat  deeper  red  colour  of  the 
breast,  which  occupies  an  area  of  about  23  mm.  in  length,  while 
in  C.  reichenowi  it  extends  for  about  17  mm.,  and  in  the  beak 


BIRDS 


35i 


being  still  shorter  than  in  C  reichenowi.  Wing  53  mm.,  tail  40 
mm.,  tarsus  20,  culmen  (from  end  of  feathering  on  forehead) 
18.3  mm.,  against  fully  20  mm.  in  C.  reichenowi.  The  belly  and 
lower  abdomen  seem  to  be  a  little  darker  than  in  C.  reichenowi. 

It  is  not  without  hesitation  that  I  describe  a  third  form,  in 
addition  to  C.  mediocris  and  C.  reichenowi,  from  almost  the  same 
localities  ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  be  about  as  distinct 
from  C.  reichenowi  as  the  latter  is  from  C.  mediocris ;  and  Prof. 
Reichenow  and  Mr.  Neumann,  both  authorities  in  East  African 
Ornithology,  pronounced  it  to  be  an  undescribed  species  when 
they  saw  it  at  Tring. 

181.  Cinnyris  acik  (Antin.) 

A  good  series  from  Masindi  in  Unyoro.  The  wings  of  the 
males  measure  from  68  to  71  mm. 

182.  Cinnyris  senegalensis  lamperti  Rchw. 

(See  ijourn.  f.  Ornith.  [1897,  p.  196.)  A  male  from  Mtoto 
Ndei  in  British  East  Africa  belongs  to  this  form,  described  as  a 
sub-species  of  senegalensis,  from  which  it  differs  in  being  much 
larger  (wing  77  mm.),  and  more  brownish  on  the  back. 

(Specimens  of  C.  gutturalis  from  East  Africa  differ  also  con- 
siderably from  those  of  South  Africa  in  being  much  smaller,  and 
must  be  separated  sub-specifically.  I  propose  for  them  the  name 
Cinnyris  gutturalis  incestimata  subsp.  nov.) 

183.  Cinnyris  hunteri  Shelley. 

Kinani  and  Tsavo  River,  British  East  Africa,  October  1896. 
"  Iris  very  dark  brown,  feet  and  bill  black." 

The  females  differ  from  the  females  of  C  acik  in  being  paler 
and  more  greyish  above,  lighter  below  and  almost  whitish  on 
the  abdomen. 

184.  Nectarinia  kilimensis  Shelley. 

Kiketi  (British  East  Africa) ;  Campi  Mbaruk  (Uganda  Pro- 
tectorate) ;  and  Masindi  in  Unyoro.  "  Iris  dark  brown  ;  feet 
and  bill  black." 

185.  Nectarinia  pulchella  (L.) 
Kibero,  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Albert,  Unyoro. 


352  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


1 86.  Anthotreptes  hypodila  (Jard.) 
Samburu  ;  Masongoleni ;  Taru  desert ;  British  East  Africa. 

(TITMICE.) 

187.  Parus  niger  Bonn,  and  Vieill. 
Fajao  on  the   Victoria  Nile,  below  the  Murchison  Falls, 
Unyoro,  13/8/97.    "  Iris  light  yellow,  ^almost  white.    Feet  blue- 
black.    Bill  black." 

188.  Partis  albiveniris  Shelley 

Taru,  British  East  Africa,  22/10/96.  "  Iris  deep  brown  ;  feet 
and  bill  black." 

(BABBLING-THRUSHES.) 
189.  Argya  rufula  Heugl. 
Mombasa  Island,  British  East  Africa.    "  Iris  yellow." 

190.  Dryodromas  rufidorsalis  Sharpe 
Kinani,  British  East  Africa,  31/10/96.    "  Iris  yellow." 

191.  Prinia  my  st ace  a  (Riipp.) 

Mruli  and  Masindi  in  Unyoro.  "  Iris  golden-orange,  bill 
black,  feet  light  brown." 

192.  Cisticola  dodsoni  Sharpe  (?). 
3  Voi  River  in  British  East  Africa,  25/10/96. 
This  specimen  differs  from  C.  dodsoni  in  being  washed  with 
rufous-brown  on  the  back,  but  this  character  may  be  seasonal. 

193.  Cisticola  lateralis  (Fras.) 
Kampala  in  Uganda,  14/1/97.    "  Iris  yellow." 


194.  Cisticola  subruficapilla  (A.  Smith.) 

Muani  (British  East  Africa)  and  Kibero  (Unyoro).  "  Iris 
dark  brown."     According  to  Dr.  Sharpe  this  species  occurs 


BIRDS 


353 


nearly  all  over  tropical  Africa.  The  names  of  cantans  Heugl. 
and  fischeri  Reichenow  are  perhaps  both  belonging  to  the  same 
northern  form  which  may  be  a  sub-species. 

195.  Cisticola  cinerascens  (Heugl.) 

r£  ad.  Masindi  (Unyoro),  14/4/97.  "  Iris  red-brown,  feet 
flesh-colour.    Bill  black." 

196.  Cisticola  lugabris  Riipp. 

$  Masindi  (Unyoro),  26/4/97.  "  ^r^s  orange-brown.  Feet 
flesh-colour.    Maxilla  black,  mandible  light  brown." 

197.  Cisticola  strangei  (Fras.) 

3  ad.  Kafu  River,  Unyoro,  4/9/97.    "  Iris  yellow." 

198.  Cisticola  erythrogenys  Riipp. 
<J  First   Swamp,   Kikuyu,    British  East  Africa,  23/11/96. 
"  Iris  orange." 

199.  Melocichla  orientalis  (Sharpe.  ) 

Masindi  in  Unyoro,  25/6/97.  "  Iris  orange-gold,  feet  light 
slate-blue,  maxilla  blackish,  mandible  light  blue-grey." 

200.  Euprinodes  schistaceus  Sharpe. 

Mau,  in  the  Uganda  Protectorate.  "  Iris  red,  feet  flesh- 
colour,  bill  black." 

201.  Calamonastes  simplex  (Cab.) 
Tsavo  River,  British  East  Africa. 

202.  Erythropygia  leucoptera  (Riipp.) 
Tsavo  River,  British  East  Africa,  29/10/96. 

203.  Erythropygia  hartlanbi  Rchw. 

Masindi,  Unyoro.  "  Iris  light  brown,  feet  slate-colour,  bill 
blackish." 

z 


354  UNDER  THE  AFRICAN  SUN 


(THRUSH-LIKE  BIRDS.) 
204.  Phylloscopus  trochilus  (L.) 
Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate,  23/3/98. 

205.  Turdus  bocagei  (Cab.) 
Masindi,  Unyoro,  18/4/97. 

206.  Turdus  deckeni  Cab. 
Mau,  Uganda  Protectorate,  7/12/96. 

207.  Monticola  saxatilis  (L.) 
Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate,  March  1898. 

208.  Myrmecocichla  cryptoleuca  Sharpe. 
Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate,  March  1898.    "  Iris 
dark  brown." 

209.  Myrmecocichla  nigra  (Vieill.) 

Fort  Hoima,  Unyoro,  October.    "  Iris  chocolate-brown." 

210.  Saxicola  livings  to  nei  (Tristr.) 
Lake  Naivasha,  Uganda  Protectorate,  26/11/96. 

211.  Saxicola  cenanthe  L. 
Kiboko  River  and  Kinani  in  British  East  Africa  ;  Masindi,  in 
Unyoro  in  winter. 

212.  Saxicola  isabellina  Cretzschm. 
Masindi,  Unyoro. 

213.  Saxicola  pleschanka  (Lepech.) 
Eldoma  Ravine,  Uganda  Protectorate,  24/3/98.    Fovira  in 
Unyoro,  1 2/1/98. 

214.  Pratincola  rubetra  (L.) 
In  winter  everywhere  in  Unyoro  and  Uganda. 


BIRDS 


355 


215.  Pratincola  rubicola  (L.) 
Kikuyu  (British  East  Africa)  and  Nandi  (Uganda  Protec- 
torate), March  and  November. 


216.  Pratincola  emmce  Hartl. 
Rau  (Nandi)  in  Uganda  Protectorate  in  March,  and  First 
Swamp,  in  Kikuyu,  British  East  Africa.    "  Iris  dark  brown,  feet 
and  bill  black." 

I  believe  that  P.  emmce  is  different  from  P.  albofasciata  Riipp. 
from  Abyssinia  in  having  a  rufous  band  across  the  chest  ;  while 
in  P.  albofasciata  this  band  is  absent  in  the  fully  adult  bird.  It 
is  nevertheless  strange  that  Hartlaub,  when  describing  P.  emmce  y 
did  not  mention  its  close  affinity  to  the  former. 


Printed  by  BALLANTYNE,  Hanson  6r  Co. 
|Edinburgh  London 


